Welcome to Gaia! ::

______________________Intelligence Type:


Tactical: If anything, Rou doesn't go in with much of a strategy at all. However, if she is paired up with someone she respects who has a strategy, she will listen. Rou uses instinct over thinking out strategies, as they often take too long for her to compile.

Social: Rou often comes off as crude and cocky, and often rebels against authority. She feels that few deserve her respect due to their lack of will and being a follower of the popular choice. She often just fights for herself, but when given a cause to truly fight for, she becomes obedient for it, and will follow someone who gives her direction. She does what she needs to so she can get what she wants, and does resort to using her voluptous body as appeal.

Emotional: Rou does things for herself unless she finds a reason to displace her needs, wants, or personal safety. She recognizes that she's often selfish, but doesn't pay it much mind. However, her rare conscience does get the better of her, as she often knows she's going to be regretting her choices later on.

Overall Wellbeing: Rou is generally healthy, and keeps herself in good fighting condition. She travels a lot, not finding it quite fit to stay at home. She finds some tranquility in blacksmithing or crafting gems, which was the trade her family made.


______________________Abilities:











______________________Equipment:

Weapons:
















______________________Personal:


..... • Likes:

Blacksmithing, training, money, strong-willed people who fight for a worthy cause.

.....• Dislikes:

Large bodies of water, politicians and authority, and weak-willed people who fight for an unworthy cause or are too lazy or scared to fight at all.

..... • Behavioral Tendencies:

Rou is crude and seemingly impolite to people she meets, but people who earn her respect see that she's far more composed when she's comfortable. Putting her into a tight spot heightens her instinct, however, being reflective without an initial plan causes her to make many mistakes.

Family: Ryu Ji (Father--deceased), Meilin Ji (Mother--deceased), Wei Ji (deceased)



______________________History:


Rou was born into a family of Blacksmiths and Jewelers in the city of Durem. As she grew up, she traveled in the stead of her older brother, Wei, as she gained knowledge, skill, and experience in both the arts of blacksmithing and fire manipulation.

She had a happy childhood, and a loving family. Her father was a blacksmith, and her mother was a jeweler, making the family fortune by perfecting mined gems, and fashioning gold and other precious metals into jewelry, weapons, and armor for wealthy consumers. They were skilled in the metal and gem trade, as well as the arts of protecting that trade. As she trained with her brother day after day, it hadn't taken long for the scouts to find Wei. He was enlisted into a private guard force, employed to protect a very important politician, and their family was overjoyed at the honor and recognition this would bring them.

Before leaving, Rou had presented her brother with a gift. A sword crafted from rubies, a strong, valueable red blade. It was her finest work, now off with her brother as he carried out his.

Unfortunately, that was the last time they ever saw Wei. The entire family was heartbroken when news of her brother's death came back around, having taken a stab to the chest to protect the politician he was employed to protect. And news of the sword Rou had given Wei said that it was stolen by the man who'd claimed his life.

Rou's father was devastated, and soon became ill. He soon lost his will to recover from sickness, leaving Rou to study the arts of Fire Manipulation and take her brother's place, as her mother took over the jeweling trade until she'd died of sickness as well.

Rou trained long and hard, before setting out on her own. There was nothing left for her in her home other than an empty blacksmith shop. After fashioning her own custom, lightweight armor, she'd set out, in search of the man who'd taken her brother from her.

It took three years to track him down, before finally reaching who she was after. And by that time, the man had become a politician, with others protecting him and sacrificing themselves, just as Rou's brother had done before. Her thoughts gave way to instinctful rage, and only halted as she pointed a knife at the throat of her brother's killer, pausing only to see the fear for his life in his eyes. He was safe, still clutching the sword that Rou had made for Wei.

And that moment was a moment too many. Captured without being able to deliver the final strike, she was locked away in a high-security prison, meant to be locked there forever for treason.

Rou had repeatedly started fights among the inmates, and was known for attacking the guards. And no matter how many times she was beaten down, she'd just try again when she'd regained her strength.

After about a month of such behavior, the warden ordered to have her anchored to the floor by shackles. With barely enough slack to take her a step forward, she was detained in her cell for eleven more months... before she bust out.

She'd pulled on the chains day and night, and had finally uprooted the bolts enough to set her free. While the shackles remained on her wrists, she fought her way through, and managed to escape the prison.

After a year of imprisonment, torture, and excruciating agony, she'd forgotten the face of her brother's killer. All that she'd had left to find him was a red sword, the Ruby Blade.

Unable to release herself from the cuffs and chains around her wrists, she learned to use them, adapting her firebending techniques to use a weapon that was always available to her.

Rou makes it a priority to fight for herself, as she is the only one she has left. Nothing would bring her family back. Nothing would return her life to the way it was. All she could do was tread forward, and protect herself. She needed more experience, and one day, she'd take the life of the man who stole her brother from her, and retrieve the sword so she could finally put her brother to rest.

Tenkai Matsumoto

Public Information

Gaia Screen-name: Tenkai Matsumoto
Name: Tenkai Matsumoto
Age: 21
Race: Human (?)
Mode of Combat: Inga Ouhou Shinken Ryu Kenjutsu and Tengu Hazan Ken Ryu Kenpo in conjunction with exorcist techniques
Birthday: January 23rd
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 221 lbs
Measurements: (This one's for women, right? ._.)
Birthplace: Rome, Italy.
Hobby: Collecting transcripts of Dr. Abraham Van Helsing's studies
Personal Treasures: Muramasa and Tenkashiwa
Favorite Food: Unagi Don (Japanese rice dish topped with freshwater eel broiled in sweetened soy sauce)
Dislikes: Injustice, innocent slaughter, arrogance and the Lasombra clan
Forte in Sports: None
Other things worth mentioning: Often goes about disguised as a Buddhist monk. Has a pet panda.

Private Information



Muramasa (村正) - A powerful katana Tenkai has sheathed horizontally towards his lower back, with the handle at his left hip. It is one of the swords forged by Sengo Muramasa, the famous/infamous swordsmith. Muramasa's blades are said to be sharp enough to cut through leaves flowing downstream in a river just by sticking the blade into the water. Regarded as a cursed blade by some, Tenkai's Muramasa is one of the last few Muramasa forged in his days of repentance for making tools for killing.

"If on your journey, you should encounter God, God will be cut." - Muramasa, from Makai Tensho

Due to its supernatural qualities, Tenkai uses it as a conduit for his spiritual and physical ki. The blade itself also has a taste for the blood of the undead and demons, weakening the effects of unholy regeneration and making normal regeneration difficult due to its sharpness. The sword is also semi-sentient.

Tenkashiwa (天柏) - Tenkai wears this sword sheathed on his back diagonally with the hilt over his right shoulder. When sheathed it appears to be a normal katana, but once drawn it is revealed to have a blade made of wood. It is a bokken carved from a very old tree from the forests of Mt. Kurama. The wood is hard enough to fend off blades and is covered in a fire-retardant lacquer. In essence, it might as well be a blunt, sword-shaped metal rod. Of course, being wood, it isn't as heavy as metal, and thus carries the normal swinging impact of a bokken. However, due to the sacred wood it is carved from, it is an exceptional conduit for both physical and spiritual ki, which allows Tenkai to use it effectively in the right situations, especially against demons and the undead. Tenkashiwa is his usual weapon of choice for sparring matches due to its blunt edge.



Armor - Tenkai wears a single piece of samurai shoulder armor on his right shoulder. The plates of the armor go down just past the length of his upper arm. He also wears an armored glove that covers his entire hand and forearm, with a forearm/backhand guard attatched to it. In addition, his legs are guarded by samurai shinguards with knee covers. The armor is strong enough to give him protection from most weapons and weak energy/magic based attacks, but can still give way against powerful abilities. He also wears a pair of geta upon his feet made of the same wood as Tenkashiwa, thus possessing the same properties. Aside from that, the rest of his outfit is either cloth or exposed flesh.

Rosaries - Tenkai wears two different kinds of rosaries which in some way can count as armor. One of them is a large Buddhist rosary he wears strapped around his body like a bandolier over his left shoulder. The beads are large, about the size of baseballs. While on his body, the large rosary's density can prevent blades from cutting too far into his body in order to avoid fatal strikes, namely being cleaved in half. He can also remove the rosary in order to use it strategically, either as a distraction or an improvized fist weapon. The second rosary is actually a smaller Catholic rosary wrapped around the forearm of his left arm above the gauze that covers it. It only serves as another conduit/focal point for spirit energy/exorcism abilities.

Sanctus Arcanum - An exorcism array of symbols and words of power written in Latin, tatooed along the length of his left arm, hidden by gauze wrap. It serves as a means to focus his spiritual energy into his left arm to give it exorcising properties for certain attacks. Normally black, glows bluish-white when spiritual energy is focused through it.





Inga Ouhou Shinken Ryu Kenjutsu (因果応報神剣流剣術) - "Divine Sword of Retribution Style Fencing" - A style of kenjutsu designed specifically to be used against the undead, demons, and other kinds of dark creatures. Tenkai tends to use his opponent's momentum against them. Most of Tenkai's sword techniques were either taught to him through this art or added to the art by his own research.

---Subdivision: A-Un Nitou Ryu (阿吽二刀) - Twin Daevas Two-Sword Style - A subdivision of Inga Ouhou Shinken developed by Tenkai. This is basically the term for Tenkai's style of dual-wielding Muramasa and Tenkashiwa.

Tengu Hazan Ken Ryu Kenpo (天狗破山拳流拳法) - "Tengu's Way of the Mountain-Crushing Fist" - "Kenpo" is moreso used in reference to it being a fist art than being a branch of modern kenpo. Tenkai learned this from a Buddhist monk at Mt. Kurama, who was actually a tengu in disguise. Basic techniques involve strikes to vital targets and weak spots for powerful strikes, as well as focusing on using body rotation momentum as force. Effective against opponents who tend to have muscular physiques that tend to dampen the effect of normal strikes.

Tenkai incorporates the use of spirit energy and physical ki into both hand-to-hand and sword fighting when necessary, allowing him to strengthen his attacks. His most often-used method is utilizing spirit energy, which takes the form of blue spectral whisps of flame when Tenkai channels it, much like those associated with Japanese ghosts.

Tenkai's abilities tend to follow "fighting game logic". That being most, if not all of his special techniques can be dodged or defended against unless used at the right moments. Also, in spite of their visual effects, they cause very minor collateral damage as they are intended for fighting opponents rather than mass destruction, and are thus scaled down for the tournament.



Fuujinzan (風神斬) - "Wind God Slash" - In spite of the name, this isn't an elemental wind attack. It is an ability utilizing Tenkai's own ki in which he swings with enough force to displace the air, sending a small crescent wave of cutting force towards his opponent. He can perform this with both Muramasa and Tenkashiwa. Depending on his swing, he can reduce the concentration of the blade from a gust of force to a cutting attack. Using the attack with Tenkashiwa makes this easier, turning the concentrated attack into a blunt force strike.

Raijinzan (雷神斬) - "Thunder God Slash" - Just like its "brother" technique the Fuujinzan, the Raijinzan is not a true elemental attack. It doesn't use the lightning element. The technique is used almost exclusively with Muramasa, usually when sheathed. By taking in the ki of his surroundings, Tenkai focuses "hadou" into the blade before drawing. He then draws the blade in an iaijutsu strike, sending the hadou along the ground as if it was fired from the sheath. The attack itself resembles lightning, but holds no electrical properties other than the sparks it gives off when charging. Tenkai can compress the attack from a blunt strike to a cutting ability depedning on how it is executed, for safety purposes.

Shakunetsu Ha (灼熱波) - "Scorching Wave" - This technique utilizes spirit energy rather than ki like the previous techniques. Contrary to its name, it doesn't use real fire. Instead, it uses his spirit "fire" to execute. By focusing it into his sword, Tenkai can release a forward-moving wave of spirit energy at his opponent like a wave of flame. It is more of a force attack than a burning attack, but against demons and undead the properties of the energy through his weapons causes the attack to burn at the skin like actual fire depending on the intensity of the attack. Extra note: When used with Muramasa the flames are a normal blue color as usual, but through Tenkashiwa the flames are white.

Nenshou Senpuuzan (燃焼旋風斬) - "Burning Hurricane Slash" - A variation of the Shakunetsu Ha using principles of the Fuujinzan. By launching a Fuujinzan attack with some of his spirit energy compressed inside of it, Tenkai can will it to collapse into a small cyclone of spectral fire. Useful for setting up traps for people who dodge by jumping, but doesn't work well against people using side-to-side evasion. Tenkai can also execute the individual cyclone attack at melee range if he has the hip momentum to spin the blade.

Koutetsuha (甲鉄破) - "Armor Breaker" - A technique designed to be used against armored or well-muscled opponents, espeically grapplers. Using his body rotation, Tenkai focuses his ki through his body in order to draw momentum through the rotation of his hip, which moves to the shoulder, arm, and finally his fist. It is a short, three-inch strike that delivers massive impact on contact that travels through armor and strong muscle, as if sending the force through the body like a piercing bolt. Damage done on living bodies is more internal than external, but can pulverize solid, rigid materials like rock and dent steel (plates, not forged weaponry).

Tenha Goushou Ha (天破剛掌波) - "Heaven Breaking Rigid Palm Wave" - This is a technique Tenkai developed after recieving the Sanctus Arcanum. By focusing his spirit energy through the arm and thrusting his palm forward, he can expel a powerful direct wave of spirit energy from his palm to crash into his opponent, washing over them with exorcising properties. Effective against demons and other evil-aligned creatures.

Nadare Otoshi (雪崩落し) - "Avalanche Drop" - A leg attack used by focusing one's weight into their attacks. Tenkai leaps into the air with his legs bent, aiming to land on top of his opponent. Before landing, Tenkai thrusts his legs downward in order to crush them into his opponent, usually aiming in between the shoulders and neck. Depending on when the leg thrust is executed, Tenkai can stay on top of where he strikes or use the momentum to bounce off of his opponent.

Hazan Senju Bakugeki (破山千手爆撃) - "Mountain-Crushing Thousand-Hand Bombardment" - An overly-elaborate name for a simple, powerful barrage of fists. Usually used when a proper opening is created, initiated by striking somewhere to stun the opponent, such as the nose or solar plexus.



Tenkai's training in martial arts and Buddhist spiritualism gives him enhanced stamina, speed, and strength in terms of being a human. This only goes so far as follows...

Stamina: Can survive from slightly more blood loss than normal humans, as well as staying conscious longer from bloodloss. The highest this resilience goes is being able to avoid going into shock at the loss of a limb, although certainly not to the degree that losing a limb would affect him in no way whatsoever. Pain is pain.

Speed: Tenkai's normal sprinting speed is about the same as a normal college athlete. However, his legs are more trained for a spring effect, which allows him to make short-distance dashes at the speed of an Olympic runner's sprint, as well as allowing him to leap ten feet in the air in one vertical bound with the right potential energy (i.e. bending the legs, not just a slight hop).

Strength: Tenkai's strength varies with how much he focuses into his attacks and the area to which they are focused. The highest example of this strength is Tenkai's Koutetsuha, which is a focused strike strong enough to break through stone and dent steel. All other hand to hand attacks and feats of strength are either equivalents or lower.