Tetsuo Gray Harkonfield
"Even the kindest of hearts are capable of murder if it's to save their own life."
Basic Information
Name: Tetsuo Gray Harkonfield
Nickname: Usually goes by Tetsu, sometimes Tei.
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight
Physical Appearance
Appearance
Tetsuo holds a slightly feminine and childish appearance. His somewhat large eyes are probably the most noticeable feature, being as the iris's are a deep shade of red that only stick out more against the fair coloring of his skin. Though he doesn't pay much attention to the state of his dark brown hair, it still remains naturally soft, albeit choppy and sometimes tangled. The ends of his hair feather out around his neck, ears and cheeks, having a few escaped strands sticking out where they please. His eyebrows are thin and set high, making his eyes look a tad droopy, even though they're not. His cheeks are a little rounded and curve softly down to his chin which is also slightly rounded, making him look younger than he is.
Despite his seemingly fragile body appearance, Tetsu has never been one to bruise easy. Bleeding, on the other hand, is a different story. Since he had difficulty controlling his magic when he was a child, he would often end up hurting himself while practicing. His fingers and hands are flecked with some small scars, though they aren't very visible from afar. He has a scar on his left wrist and two more on his right forearm due to blood vessels ripping open(will be explained below). He also has a thin scar running along the left side of his neck as well.
Aside from that, his clothing style is quite simple yet collected. He doesn't much care about the way his hair looks but he doesn't like wearing baggy or bland clothes.
Height and Weight: 5'5" | 117lbs
Personality
Personality
Tetsuo is a usually calm and more or less shy character. It's not often that one sees him smile since he's usually bearing a blank or tired expression. He's a little strange and hard to understand, but not entirely difficult to get along with. He's normally laid back, though it's not hard to get him flustered or nervous. Anger isn't really a common thing for him and it's rare to see him losing his temper. He does express frustration, but never truly becomes hateful towards others. In fact, you probably won't meet anyone who has ever seen him seriously angry before. He is actually quite kind and even a bit of a pushover. Most would notice that he's unnaturally detached and distant, yet he'll willingly join in on practically any conversation if asked. He usually minds his own business, sitting alone without bothering anyone, but when he becomes curious about something that quickly changes. This curiosity is often getting the best of him and though he claims he isn't very interested in the problems of others, when he thinks something is interesting he can't help but ask questions. He's a little careless about the way he talks to people, voicing his opinions where they're not wanted or accidentally insulting someone without realizing it.
His childish appearance and kindness often results in others misunderstanding him and marking him off as a naive boy who is incapable of standing up for himself. Perhaps he is a little clumsy and not fond of fighting, but those who know him better than that are pretty aware that if the situation calls for it Tetsu can be as cold and emotionless as he wants. Yes, he's sympathetic and normally sensitive, but even he has his dark side. It's a a truly terrifying sight to see, but as the saying goes-- "It's the quiet ones you need to watch out for." After all, all humans are two-faced someway or another. Tetsuo is very capable of being harsh if he thinks it's a necessary thing for him to do. He states that he isn't a fan of violence, but rarely hesitates to kill if it's to save his own skin. On that note, despite how deeply he cares for the members of the Black Coven, even Tetsuo would choose to save himself over one of them. He cares, but he's never become that emotionally attached to someone that he cares about them more than himself.
Magical Powers
General Magic
In modern day terms Tetsuo would most likely be considered somewhat of a psychic. This could also simply be considered as having extraordinary intuition as well. No, it's nothing like looking into the future, though it's not impossible for him to try..and most likely end up being completely wrong. This is more like predicting someones intentions and even reading ones thoughts if he feels like it. When it comes to mind reading, however, it normally requires eye contact if not a fixed amount of concentration, though concentrating has never been much of a problem for him to do. There are also times, however, when Tetsuo isn't paying attention to the extent of his magic and will accidentally hear someone thoughts without noticing and will reply to them out loud, and having someone root around in your thoughts isn't exactly something others like to have done to them.
That isn't the only use of his psychic magic, of course. Aside from reading thoughts, he's very good at correctly guessing what someone might have in their pocket or whether it's going to be rainy or sunny the next day. It's the same for knowing if someone is going to get sick or what chances someone has in winning. Having this magic would be quite handy for gambling or betting. Once again, it's more like having amazing intuition.
High Magic â Blood Manipulation
If the name of this technique isn't obvious enough, Tetsuo uses mana in order to manipulate the blood flowing inside any living creature, both in humans and animals. It's not very difficult to understand. Simply put, if he wants to slow the blood flow in ones body, or cause the veins to rip open and have the blood break through your skin, then he'll do it. No, he can't use the blood to make one's body move around, but making them incapable of moving at all isn't out of the question. Of course that would result in either death or unconsciousness. The easiest way for him to control someone's blood would be for him to touch a part of their body, whether continuously or only for a second. Establishing physical contact makes blood manipulation much easier and less mana has to be used. It gives him access to every blood cell in the body and yes, he'll probably have all of his enemy's blood vessels explode at once. It's not a very pretty use of magic, but it's the one he was born with. Which all in all explains why he wouldn't hesitate to kill after having grown used to the sight of a brutal death.
Although physical contact makes it easier to manipulate ones blood, it isn't necessary. He can easily burst a vessel or stop the blood flow to any body part by simply focusing, and concentration is no trouble for him. However, using his magic without physical contact gives him less access to the blood cells of the one he's using his ability on. So no, no simultaneous explosion of blood vessels. One vein at a time isn't out of the question,though, and it depends on the size of his victim as well. In order for him to perform his magic, he has to be able to see the person or people he is going to use it on, and they have to be capable of seeing him as well, which is a bit of a setback for him since he's not very athletic. Yes, he's fast and being small helps with dodging and evading an enemy attack, but he still has little to no muscle and would have no chance in a physical fight. Good thing the inquisitors use magic instead of brute strength and fists. Though, I should mention that if he would make an attempt to us his magic on an enemy without being able to see them, it could easily result in him either damaging himself or anyone nearby who are in his visual range.
History
Biography
Tetsuo probably wouldn't of had such a bad childhood. He would've lived in a normal middle class house with enough food, good clothes, and proper schooling. That is, if his mother hadn't of died while giving birth to him. The doctors explanation? While giving birth, the veins inside her stomach had mysteriously broken open and the rapid internal bleeding is what caused her life to end. His father mostly coped with it for the first years, having to keep it together in order to take care of an infant. It's what his wife would've wanted him to do, though that belief slowly turned into resentment towards Tetsuo. After all, if he'd never been born, his childhood lover would still be alive. Tetsuo's father was already far into gambling and drinking by the time he was only seven. Debts were going unpaid and they couldn't afford much anymore, but his father continued to gamble in hopes of gaining a fortune. Unfortunately, the man was a terrible gambler and what money he did earn was spent on booze. This is the likeliest reason Tetsuo is smaller than most boys his age, being as he wasn't getting the nutrients he needed when he was a child and thus his body wasn't growing very quickly. He'd barely gotten any schooling as well and couldn't read or write for that matter. Things like science, history, and math were a completely mystery to him and whenever he'd ask his father about it he'd either be yelled at or ignored.
Despite the poor living environment and the relationship between him and his father, Tetsuo never really felt anger towards the man. Of course, for those past seven years he'd been openly blamed for his mothers death and eventually he started to believe it. So he didn't blame his father for resenting him and simply accepted the daily verbal abuse that the man gave him. He was obedient and never complained or dared to cry in front of his already disappointed parent. Sometimes, when his father would come home after a long night of gambling and drinking, he would thank Tetsuo for helping him get into bed with a glass of water or some bread. That was really the closest he ever got to having the man be nice to him. His father would even talk about his mother now and again, though it would usually end with, "She'd still be alive if not for you," or "She'd be here if you were never born."
A couple years passed and times didn't change much. They'd moved into a smaller place in a lower part of their big town since his father couldn't pay for the house anymore. The man was still in dept and rarely home. Stranger would come to their little place and ask for the money, but since Tetsuo would usually be the only one there, he was the one to be threatened. His father would come home drunk and barely notice that his son had taken a beating for him. Tetsuo wasn't allowed to go out without his father's permission, and being the obedient child that he was, he never made an attempt to leave to avoid the men asking for the debt money that his father owed. He put up with it in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, his father would notice and realize that he needed to step up and pay or his son would continue being hurt. As expected he never did and would even scold the boy for not sticking up for himself. This continued for a good seven months until one day, to Tetsuo's surprise, his father took him out for a casual walk in they're rundown neighborhood. They walked for a while without speaking, his father a few paces in front of him until the man stopped in front of a big building that Tetsuo had never seen before. It was an orphanage.
His father told him that he would come back for him soon, and with that, he left. The maids of the orphanage already knew Tetsuo's situation. His father wasn't going to come back for him and they quickly treated Tetsuo as an orphan with the others, changing his last name to that of the name of the orphanage. Harkonfield was the surname that all of the children at the orphanage bore. This was to establish some sort of family-like connection between the children Tetsuo agreed to think of the other children as brothers and sisters, but also continued to hold on to the hope that his father was going to fix everything and then come and get him. He must've noticed that Testuo was being hurt and he only left him here to be safe while he found a way to pay his debts and give his son a safe environment. That had to be the only reason his father left him here, right? That wasn't true, but it's what Tetsuo chose to believe. It was difficult for him to communicate with the other children in the orphanage at first. He'd never had any sibling or friends, so he felt a little afraid to interact with them and would only speak if spoken to. He would spend most of his time in the small library, looking at picture books since he couldn't read yet. Luckily one of the maids offered to teach him and he caught onto it rather quickly. She was even nice enough to show him how to write, but after that he gained the rest of his knowledge through reading.
Maybe it wasn't so terrible to live in an orphanage. The food wasn't the best, but he was fed three meals a day and it was better than what he used to get when living with his father. He didn't have to wear baggy or tattered clothing anymore either. After a year he found it easier to talk to the other children and, although he didn't find much interest in things like pretend dragon slaying or tag, he would always join in when playing 'hide-and-seek'. He still didn't smile much and the maids would often notice him sitting alone with a spacy pr sad expression on his face. It had been a year and he hadn't gotten any news from his father, but he still had faith he'd come for him. Another two years, and still nothing. By now he'd started to spend more time reading than playing with the other children and would often pass up on going outside or playing games. That is until he heard one of the other boys approached him while he was sitting on the doorstep to the back of the orphanage with a science book in his lap. He'd been picked on before about his size or his strange eyes and normally messy hair, but this time the boy mentioned Tetsuo's father, saying that he was probably happier without him and that he wouldn't come back. Maybe this upset Tetsuo so much because deep down he had started to think it true. After a few more hurtful lines, the book in Tetsuo's lap landed in the grass and his right fist met with the other boys cheek, except it did far more damage than he'd intended. The veins in the taller boys cheek burst open, ripping his skin and splattering blood onto the grass and the boy fell back, gripping his face and letting out a terrible wail.
As for Tetsuo, the smaller vessels in his fingers and palm had broken and the crimson liquid slowly trickled down to his fingertips. Both boys were quickly attended to and the children instantly started to avoid Tetsuo from then on. Even the maids gave him weary glances and acted careful around him. It was shocking to them how such a small boy could've punched someone hard enough to burst open their veins. Of course that wasn't how it happened and in truth the punch would've barely done anything to the other boy if Tetsuo hadn't been born with the magic he possessed. Tetsuo knew himself that he could never be that strong and went over the scene constantly in his head, and then the story on how his mother died. He found it hard to believe that he was capable of something like that, but that didn't stop him from trying it again. This time on the orphanage's pet gerbil after lights out. It worked, though at the cost of a messy cleanup and a busted vein in his left pointer finger and another on the top of the same hand. Within the next year he'd practiced on plenty of rats, a few snakes, and even a couple of stray dogs that threatened to attack one of the younger children, though he didn't get any thanks for it.
He was thirteen now and had read almost every book in the library aside from the math books with he would openly insult, though in truth they were just too difficult for him to understand. He had accepted by now that his father wasn't going to come for him and finally decided to leave the orphanage. After all, it was clear to him that the maids didn't want him there despite how respectful he was towards them. He thanked the one lady who'd taught him how to read, the only one really who continued to treat him like family after the bloody incident between him and the other boy who by now had also left, and then went on his way.
After two and a half years he became able to use his magic without hurting himself after a while and plenty in the gambling world knew not to argue with him if he won. Of course by then the witch hunting's had started and a man who had lost money to Tetsuo quickly reported the boy who recently used the money he'd won to get himself a small but nice place in a town near Alderath. Tetsuo only managed to severely hurt one of them before he was apprehended and blindfolded. Apparently these inquisitors knew what kind of magic they were dealing with and how to make Tetsuo incapable of using it. It wasn't long before the carriage reached Alderath where many witches were to be burned or executed in some way or another. At least that was what was supposed to happen. Instead a number of witches had banded together and at the strong word of a young female witch, a fight broke out which Tetsuo didn't mind participating in after managing to get himself unbound in the confusion. He wasn't ready to be executed just yet and wasn't about to let himself die. When the rebellion was won, the witches succeeded and somehow he found himself joining the Black Coven and finding himself a new place to consider home.
Other
Theme Song: Six Trillion Years and Overnight Story [ English Cover by Ashe ]
Face Claim: Shuuen no Shiori - A-ya