âAge: ]
32
âAppearance]
Taro has the ability to pull off both a roguish charm and an oppressive warrior aura with all but a simple grin or scowl. His body, well honed with years of fighting and training, is taut with muscle that does not adequately convey the strength that he tends to surprise his enemies with. Standing at roughly 5'10, he towers over most other men within eyesight, adding a sense of authority to his growing repertoire of presence. A scar coming up from the left of his jaw and stopping halfway up his cheek is a sharp reminder of a battle that nearly cost him his life, mixing with his brown eyes and hardened features, Taro couldn't be mistaken for anything less than a seasoned warrior.
His armor is actually a mix of two different sets. His chest piece attached with thigh guards belonged to his father before him, a light crimson with standard thatching as a legitimate Samurai would don in times of war. His gauntlets and leggings, differing in color to his chest piece, are the trophies of war. Ripped from the hands and feet of his dead brother, Fujimaki Konyo. Scratches and scars of battle mar the surface of their emerald sheen, despite evidence of high maintenance. His trademark open form coat is a durable thing despite initial appearances. A high weave in the fabric prevents common tears from taking place, although offering no protection from weapons such as swords.
âLikes]
Jacket- Taro is very attached to his jacket to an almost inane degree. While he normally isn't opposed to people touching him or any other form of social contact, should someone attempt to tug on his jacket or intentionally spill something on it, they are inviting the wrath of hell down on their doorstep.
Fire- His odd fascination with fire comes from a deep belief on one's nature. Just because fire is destructive doesn't mean that that's its only purpose. It can be used to heat, to cook, and in extreme situations, seal wounds and save lives. Whether the fire is burning a house to the ground or cooking a rabbit, it's not odd to see Taro staring into it much like an astronomer stares into the sky.
Noodles- Despite being a very common dish made everywhere, if given the choice between noodles and any other type of food, Taro will always choose noodles. He loves the texture, the taste, and the fact that he can add practically anything to them and they'll only be more amazing than they were before. The ultimate 'any man's' food.
Challenges- This applies to a variety of things, not just war. A battle of wits? Observation? Maybe even Shogi? Taro craves someone or something that forces him to overcome and adapt, be it a person or inanimate object. This can sometimes lead to Taro taking too long to accomplish a certain goal due to his inability to simply give up and let someone else do it. This is dangerous when it comes to battles as well, as Taro will more than likely refuse to lose a battle until he's either dead or unconscious.
Music- Naturally a wandering sell sword loves music. He's even taken to carrying around a Nohkan, a bamboo flute, wherever he goes. He can sometimes be heard playing late into the night if he has the time to practice. While he's no prodigy, he's not half bad.
âDislikes]
Honor- An unwritten code that many samurai of the day live by. An unspoken rule book that Taro has never found a need or a want for. People who live by these laws are naive and fail to see what the world really is. Itâs a cold and unforgiving place where sometimes one has to compromise their moral authority in order to survive. Anyone who fails to see that...needs to be educated.
Cats- Doesn't matter whose cat it is, what kind, or where it is. If he can hear a single meow, they are in danger of being hunted, killed, and cooked. His deep hatred comes from a somewhat comical history involving several cats in a row using his legs, and in one occasion, his face as a scratching post.
Fairy Tales- Taro doesn't mind legends, myths, or even stories of greatness. It's where these tales get twisted into child fantasies that he gets irritated. Nothing ever works out like one of these stories, and he hates when parents are clouding a child's view of the past with pictures of flowers and rainbows.
The Abuse of Women- A very simple thing with Taro. He hates seeing women mishandled by anyone, including very powerful political figures. If he has the ability to do so, he will step in and 'rectify' the situation. Otherwise he will simply excuse himself, not wanting to be witness to the scene happening in front of him.
"Just" Causes- There is no such thing as a Just or Righteous cause. There are goals, things to strive for, the end of the road so to speak. To claim that your actions are 'Justified because your goal is Righteous' or any other variation of that fact makes Taro want to puke. Everyone has a reason for doing what they do, but none are more right than the next.
âPersonality]
Taro is somewhat of an odd person, often varying in personalities depending on who you talk to. To some people, he's a chivalrous sell sword with a fairly decent sense of humor. To others, he is the epitome of evil, someone who would choke the life out of his own new born baby given the chance. In reality, Taro often seems to switch his personality to fit the situation at hand. Despite lacking in a higher education such as advanced mathematics, politics, or history, Taro has an uncanny ability to read people. That being said, sometimes he'll act the opposite of what someone would want in order to get a reaction and gauge them even more, but more because he thinks that it would be funny. His humor is one of the few things that tends to stay with him regardless of the type of person he runs into, and as such it also varies wildly. He can be crude, immature, dark, subtle, and witty all within the span of a conversation. Sometimes it's his only way to deal with some of the situations he runs into.
Very few claim to really know Taro as he often hides what he's truly feeling from prying eyes. He can protect even a complete mental breakdown from the outside world, showcasing someone stoic and rock solid while screaming and cowering like a child in his mind. Some might say he's mastered the art of emotional manipulation, but Taro would never claim such a thing. He's simply learned as he's traveled, gaining knowledge and experience through adventures both good and bad. He has a mindset that no one can truly be a 'master' of anything, as there will always be someone better than you regardless of who you are. He doesn't hate people who call themselves a 'master', but does believe them to be disillusioned.
Contrary to this, almost hypocritically, Taro is extremely confident in his ability as a swordsman. He's been known to goad his opponents in extreme situations, including life or death. Some say he's using it to rile his opponent up, make them angry and eventually cause a mistake. He would partially agree, but also state that he's also that confident in his skills. Due to his tendency to view everything as a challenge, he tends to very rarely ask for help. When he does, it's either because he believes that the task or problem is too important for him to waste his time trying to do or solve it, or because he's already tried a number of times and has failed on each attempt. If it's the latter, it's not uncommon for Taro to be in an extremely sour mood, one that is best left untouched. On the flip side, if someone gives their aid willingly without his request, he does appreciate instead of condone it.
At his core, one could say Taro was a broken man. His ability to match personality types to the people around him, while useful, is due to his inability to find a place for himself in the world. His constant tendency to view everything as a challenge, push himself to the brink and beyond for what other people would consider to be simple pride is a subconscious effort to find a stopping point in his life. He marches forward, unable to stop because he doesnât feel right, doesnât feel complete, and he never will until someone forces him to be. The death of his brother caused this particular trait to appear in Taro, but if one were to try and use the guilt of his brotherâs murder on him, they would find him remarkably unphased. The guilt associated with ending Kyonoâs life actually has a calming effect on Taro, bringing his mind to peace rather than shattering it with âwhat ifsâ. This could be due to a psychological break, simply an over rationalization that it needed to be done, or a combination of both that has left Taroâs moral compass all but shattered. He didnât see his brotherâs death as wrong but necessary, at least, now he does. Regardless, if someone tries to use his familyâs death against him, they will be severely disappointed.
In the end, one word that could be used to describe Taro's personality would be Adaptable.
âRelationships]
Many of Taro's relationships are on a professional level, keeping few to no friends around. His immediate family is all dead. His mother was killed by his father, and his father and brother were killed by his own hand. The few that he has called 'close friends' over the years have either died or traveled to parts unknown. He wasn't with Yousuke when they uprooted the Chinatsu-dono's family, but has been with his forces for a couple years now under a signed contract of employment and loyalty. While he's not in the upper tier echelon of the man's retainer, he has managed to gain a reputation among his forces as a respected swordsman.
âEquipment]
ăȘăŒăăłăăŒă (Opunpamu) "Open Palm" - One of the two swords that Taro keeps attached to his hip. The Open Palm is the one that you want to see when you face him. A light gold sheen can be see from the hilt accompanying a black handle, while the blade itself is almost immaculate tempered steel, disguising the amount of use the sword has actually seen. Unknown to most, this sword used to be his brother's, and despite it's sturdy materials and near immaculate condition, it is a standard Katana.
ăŻăăŒășăæł (Kurozudo Zen)"Closed Fist" - The second sword that Taro wields. This sword, as you could have guessed from the naming scheme, is the opposite of the Open Palm. The hilt shares the same gold sheen as the Open Palm, save that the handle is covered in white tape. The blade is made of the same material as his other sword, but it has been died black and purposely modified by Taro himself, with the aid of a couple of blacksmiths. Unlike a standard Katana, which has only one bladed side, the Closed Fist is twin edged, allowing for backward strikes and slashes. This is the weapon that Taro will wield when he intends to kill whoever is standing in front of him. It is also the sword that he used to kill both his father and his brother.
âStrengths]
Swordsmanship- While his ability with a Katana isn't legend yet, or so he likes to say, you would be hard pressed to find someone who can match his skill one on one. Despite having two swords, Taro never uses both at the same time. That being said, his style with a sword can change on the fly rapidly and often without warning. Most of the time, one would say that his preferred style of fighting would be Akido, as his movements and general stance mimic it. However, there are others who would say that his preferred style is Iaido, and yet more Iaijutsu. Then, there are the people who say he doesn't have a style that is commonly known at all, incorporating punches, kicks, and flying tackles into his ability set. While some claim to have seen him use the style of Zatoichi, the art of the reverse grip. Needless to say, his ability with a sword can not be summed up in a single style as he is proficient in many.
Battlefield Manipulation- His ability to read people can come into play in a fight as well. He reads people like a book, allowing him to do things such as goading them into a unfavorable attack by saying the right thing, or even predicting their next move. It's not a precise art, and doesn't work against the highly disciplined or emotionally repressed, but a tool none the less.
A Challenge's Strength- Everything in life is a challenge, and to give up is to admit defeat. Taro is only human, and as such his body is limited to the amount of punishment it can take. That being said, Taro sometimes showcases an almost super natural resistance to pain in order to win or achieve his goal. He won't stop, can't stop, until he's victorious.
âWeaknesses]
A Challenge's Weakness- The flip side to pushing one's self so hard to achieve something is the added punishment one is liable to incur. Given enough incentive, Taro will force himself forward or to keep fighting when the most rational move might be to retreat and live to fight another day. He'll sometimes incur injuries that were entirely avoidable, and often times will put himself in needlessly dangerous situations in order to prove himself to someone or something.
Moral Apathy- Due to the events that transpired in acquiring his âOpen Palmâ sword, Taro has difficulty in differentiating right from wrong, black from white, etc. Despite the names of his swords, and the obvious moral title connections, he never meant them to be either good or evil. Taro doesnât see anything wrong with murdering a bunch of children or setting a mass murderer free if it fulfills his goals. The children grow up into men and women who could be a threat, the mass murderer could end up killing a bunch of enemy soldiers or personnel. He disguises his inability to differentiate between good and evil with rationalization, and as such could technically be declared a sociopath.
Lack of Higher Education- Taro knows basic math and history, but aside from that actually hasn't had a full formal education. Most of his years have been spent on the road, learning from life experiences rather than books and teachers. As such, while his skill on the battlefield is well known, he's not the brightest tool in the shed when it comes to intelligent matters or political maneuvering.
âHome]
Normally Taro makes a home near where his current contracted employer requires him to be. As such, he resides in a small hut in a village just a small ways from Kobayashi castle.
âHistory]
Fujimaki Taro's life has not been an easy one. While he can't claim to have been trained from birth to be what he is today, he will say that he did start early. By the time he was old enough to learn how to wield a sword though, his father literally beat him until he could hold it right. His father, Fujimaki Norinaga, was not someone to be taken lightly. The Fujimaki clan, a small and proud family barely worth a footnote in the history of Japan based out of a small village near Hakataka, had a long history of raising some of the best swordsmen to ever grace their Daimyo's halls. As such, Taro was never given the chance to properly be a child.
The one saving grace of this was, of course, his mother. Fujimaki Matsumune was the polar opposite to Taro's father. She gave off a caring and understanding nature, working both as the caregiver and nurse whenever Taro came back from training with cuts and bruises, which was all the time. His father often complained that she was too gentle with him, but she would only agree in a soft spoken voice and continue with patching up Taro's wounds. She was one of the good things in Taro's life.
He was given his very own sword at the age of 8, the one that he still wields to this day. With it, his father trained him in the art of killing for one's Daimyo, along with how much a backhand hurts, or a wooden stick, or the ground. His brother, Fujimaki Konyo was born the same year. The birth of his brother lessened the training sessions somewhat from his father, who seemed to show a legitimate concern for his new born child. Taro welcomed the change of pace, but it wasn't long before it was back to normal. For the most part, this was Taro's life. Training and living with his family. He was destined to join their Daimyo's military service when he came to age, but that never happened.
As Taro entered his teenage years, his father's attitude changed. It was subtle at first, the beatings for failing to block an attack were harsher than usual, or the curses uttered for missing a step were even more barbaric. Due to a near lifetime of this though, Taro didn't recognize the signs of what was coming until much later. Taro was training with his father, when he saw an opening and seized it. The result ended up with Norinaga on his back, but instead of praise, Taro got an intense beating. He wasn't respecting his father enough, he should know better than to strike his betters like that, he should show subservience! Taro was, naturally, confused at this outcome. All his years of training had been leading up to a point of being able to beat his father in a sparring match, but instead of congratulations he was met with scorn. It only got worse, as Norinaga would simply bypass the training altogether to beat on Taro instead. His brother, Kyono managed to avoid it somehow, most likely due to his mother who saw that she would only be able to save one of them from this harsh treatment.
It took a couple years for all of this to come to fruition, of which Taro was 16 at the time. Taro was sparring with his father once more, but this time it was inside the family Dojo. Wooden swords clacked together as Taro and Norinaga fought with all the years of practice that they had gone through. Taro's mother was present, but Kyono was actually with his uncle who was lacking a son of his own to train. As such, they were actually trained apart. The following sparring match ended rather abruptly when Norinaga left himself surprisingly open. Taro, once again, seized the opportunity. He struck his father with enough force to send him to the ground. His mother smiled and immediately started clapping softly only to be interrupted by the ferocious yell of Norinaga.
Taro couldn't tell you what caused his father to snap. A logical assumption would be an addiction to sake or some type of alcohol, but the more likely option would be some kind of sickness that went untreated. Regardless, Taro never found the reason why his father screamed at him, beating him nearly within an inch of his life before grabbing his own sword off the wall and standing over Taro. When Taro managed to look up from the beatings, he saw that his mother had tried to intervene, only for Norinaga to whip around too quickly with his sword arm raised. His Katana sliced cleanly through her throat, and collapsed to the floor.
His last images of his mother were of her...dying...gasping.
His last images of his father was of him grabbing his sword from the wall and piercing it upwards through Norinagaâs throat and out the back of his skull.
If anything, his father taught him how to use a sword and how to deal with pain in equal measure. His mind raced as he contemplated going to the family elders, only to look upon the vision of his parents. They would never believe him, not with a bloodied blade. Instead, he made the possibly irrational decision to run. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins so hard that by the time he was several miles away, he hadn't even realized he had grabbed his sword and taken his father's armor from his stand. The shock of the event had forced his body to do things that he hadn't been consciously aware of, and he contemplated throwing it in a ditch somewhere. Eventually, he decided that it served better as a reminder than a piece of trash, and he set out into the world.
Taro knew he was labeled a murderer and an outcast by his family without ever having to hear from them, it was the only thing they could possibly do. Despite this, he refused to change his name and essentially who he really was, and forced his way through the world sometimes by his own willpower alone. He came close to dying from starvation and cold several times, but managed to persevere. He had no other skills aside from what his father gave him, and so early on he started hiring himself out as a Ronin, faking his age in order to gain the somewhat tenuous trust of the traders that pocketed Japan.
It wasn't until Taro was 24, 8 years later, that his past finally came back to haunt him. He had a small reputation by that point, his swordsmanship honed from years of work and his innate ability to not die like most Ronin. He was nearly on the other side of the country, near the castle town of Yamagata when a familiar face caught up to him.
His brother, donned in armor, held his sword to Taro's throat. His reason for being there was clear cut, pure and simple revenge. Konyo was only 16, and he had made a trek that Taro had been progressively making for 8 years. Taro was impressed to say the least, and even attempted to say so. Konyo was hearing none of it, including Taro's explanation and story of their father's death. Konyo had been raised by Taro's uncle and Norinaga's brother, who whispered vile poison into his ear. Konyo wouldn't be satisfied until Taro was dead, their father avenged, and their uncle sated with the blood of his brother's killer. With a great amount of hesitation, Taro accepted his challenge.
It wasn't much of a fight. Konyo was trained well, his form was amazing and his skills most likely would have surpassed others of his age, but Taro had real life experience. He no longer believed in the formal code of the Samurai, and within minutes the fight was over. Konyo was bleeding on the ground, but not mortally wounded. Taro attempted once more to sway him, to convince him of the events that transpired 8 years ago only for Konyo to literally and figuratively spit in his face. So long as he lived, Konyo stated, he would hunt Taro and would never stop. Taro kept trying for what felt like an eternity, but when nothing was appearing to work, Taro did what had to be done.
He slid his blade through Konyo's throat, ending the threat before it could become a reality. Taro changed that day as he took Konyo's armor and sword. He wore it on his belt, next to the one that killed both him and Norinaga, and he traveled forward with a new found darkness in his heart.
So began the path of Kontora Kenshi (ăłăłăă©ćŁćŁ«), the Contra Swordsman.
From that point on, Taro racked up points on the reputation scale as a very skilled Ronin with dual swords named after his two main methods of dealing with life. However, despite the name of his one sword 'The Open Palm', many seem to remember him resorting to violence in nearly every occasion. Soon his reputation was adjusted to allow people to realize that the sword that he uses is his indication of whether he wants to kill you or not.
The rest of his life from that point on was filled with travel and jobs ranging from boring and mediocre to extravagant and extraordinary. He wasn't around when Warlord Yousuke killed the ruling family and declared himself Daimyo, but he did happen to be near the Castle about a year later. By that point, there were a few people who knew his face, and as such he was hired by the Warlord for an indeterminate amount of time. Taro was known to be loyal to his employer for as long as the job lasted, and no amount of bribing or other form of deterrence would shake him away from that agreement. The pay was good and he was gifted lodgings for as long as he was under the employ of Yousuke. Taro can't complain, and as long as Yousuke is willing to foot his bill, Taro will hunt and kill his enemies with a relentless determination.