Dragonball M: A DBZ RPG Sign-Up and Discussion Thread II

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

A fair enough point I suppose, Gen.

But getting to the bottom line, if it keeps trending like it is, certain characters will be worth less and less when it comes to actually fighting. But eh.

...

Suppose I'm getting worked up for nothing.

[grampagen]

Nah I can definitely see where you're coming from. It's very subjective to keep these PL increases to an honest accounting, especially so since hard multipliers abilities are the order of the day for most.

On the other hand, given how subjective GM appeal is, that means that there is but one rule that supercedes all others:

The rule of cool.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

give Praxat a new technique it's called Hyper Charge. it's a technique where Praxat sends surge of Ki though out her entire body than coverts the surge of Ki into electricity super charging her body. this boosts her striking speed while adding a extra oomph to her strikes. mostly it's a speed boosting technique. the visual effect is Praxat being surround by a electric aura.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

That's only a handful of people, really.

Sasheem ate P-Sta. Dunno about Adam but I presume it's a similar deal with him assimilating technology here and there.

Nevanlinna is also a particular case, one that I wish we got a bit more spotlight.

I suppose this criticism could most be leveled at Totoma, who is - for want of a better word - essentially Gohan, but at this juncture he's about to finally get some narrative closure.

In Nevanlinna's case, she's... essentially a mutant, though more like the Ginyu force than, say, Frieza. She was born with her level of power (~50k) and only had to train to learn how to use it, but never trained to increase it. That, and she's naturally kinda lazy when it comes to martial arts, instead preferring intellectual pursuits.

Totoma... yeah, it's a fair charge. Of course, given the state his body was in a year ago--that is to say, bad enough that when he went to the doctor, said doctor was surprised he was still alive, let alone capable of fighting--his power increase can essentially be chalked up to being able to channel his 'hidden power' better as his body recovers.

TLDR: GT Base Kid Totoma was OP.

[grampagen]

Yeah, see? It's pretty well-documented that Totoma's used to coasting, and of late using Hitozaru as a crutch, so it's alright.

It also sounds like Nevanlinna will soon have a rather crucial choice to make. I'm not certain if you've decided on a direction, but it couldn't hurt to have her mingle a bit.

[KingofPie]

Got a random idea for a new npc...probably the last one I'll write a profile for. A Frost demon Galactic patrolman...they've probably got some of them on the force in this universe....maybe?

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Yeah, see? It's pretty well-documented that Totoma's used to coasting, and of late using Hitozaru as a crutch, so it's alright.

It also sounds like Nevanlinna will soon have a rather crucial choice to make. I'm not certain if you've decided on a direction, but it couldn't hurt to have her mingle a bit.

Yeah, Hitozaru basically is a crutch. A very powerful crutch, but a crutch nonetheless.

As for Nevanlinna... I'll admit, CBR's, ah, unresponsiveness as of late has made me really unmotivated in regards to posting. But I'd say she's just gonna watch this one from afar and stick with whoever comes out on top.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Qacriea special information.

on planet Qacriea the Toadians keep a documents for history purposes. one of the documents describes the current ruler of Qacriea and the leader of the Replitas. statements in the document are as follow. the current ruler of Qacriea and the leader of the Replitas is a mad man. He is a malevolent ruler who's demented.

his cruelty and brutally is beyond want the average Replita does. he had one of his officers kill just because the official accidently ate his lunch. he's so highly paranoid that he views any planet with a decent size army as a threat. seeing the leader of the Replitas in person and examine his warp behavior that goes beyond the normal Replita behavior.

we Toadians write this document have including that the leader of the Replitas is mentally unstable.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Guh.

I thiiink Ishtar could kill Sasheem if she had to, she'd be a wreck afterwards though. Of course it'd require Aeshma, and .. that's really not something she should use this side of the RoSaT training.

[grampagen]

And now with this very late update on the pre-timeskip, pre-Junjo state of affairs with Kenshiko, it is time to assail the present!

...or maybe not. Time for some discussion thread housekeeping.

[grampagen]

Chahan, Grandmaster of the Crane Style

Race/Species: Human
Age: 81
Height/Weight: 5'5” (164 cm)/ 125lbs (56 kg)

History

Under the Grand Master Chahan's stewardship, the Crane School enjoys a heightened reputation in both the martial sphere and the world at large. Notorious for the heightened physical skill and spiritual prowess granted to novices of the art in the public eye, the acolytes of the core sect have a much more sinister reputation in the underworld. Though his silver-tongued charisma inspires fatherly devotion among his pupils, to the codified rituals of blood-honour the sancitity of the Master-Student relationship is but an afterthought. Being long-lived, his experienced eye for talent has been tempered in an all-consuming need for victory. His fixation on his legacy has given him a ruthless approach to life.

Students are trained to a point where they are separated in order of their utility. An strong, adept pupil is groomed to become a soldier-fanatic of the ancient feud, a master of assassination; a novice adept will find his place as a volatile user of the internal energy work of Kikojutsu, their self-sacrifice trading their lives for their enemies'. Only a few have been deemed worthy to receive his direct tutelage, worthy of preservation.

Ochazuke was one of these direct disciples, but his questioning of the blood feud – and Chahan's refusal to entertain these notions – caused a rift between the two. Once news reached him of his pupil's fraternization with another sect, he with a section of novices erased it to the last member, and he himself put a Dodonpa through Ochazuke's back.
____

A crane stands astride the marsh, king to all he surveys. When his wings spread he shall ascend to conquer heaven. Woe to whom his bill falls upon, they are no more than fodder.

Other:

- Chahan means 'fried rice' in Japanese. No matter what ingredients you put into it, it remains fried rice at its foundation.
- The image is of coach Dankichi Hama from Hajime no Ippo, who ironically cares very much about his pupils.
- In his training days he was the rival of Yakimesh Toh Mago, Zaofan's former teacher, and eventually surpassed him for the Grandmaster successorship. After Toh Magoh's rebellion against the school, Chahan considers him a 'loose end' that must be taken care of.
- Theme: El Michels Affair - Duel of the Iron Mics
___

Aiko Fukuhara (福原 愛子)

Race/Species: Human

Age: 22

Height/Weight: 5'6” 135cm/ 130lbs 48kg
Power Level: ??? (Estimated 205+ at base by the World Tournament)
Style: Crane School

History

The star pupil of the Crane School, the protege of Grand Master Chahan and the junior underclassman of Ochazuke.

A distant blood relative of Chahan, her parents were killed by a smalltime rival house seeking to make a name for themselves. Chahan took care of that problem and brought her into his house for protection. A late bloomer, she began her martial training at a late age for an adept, but failed a lot in the initial stages. Her presence at the dojo was perceived as nepotism, but any affront to her was unconscionable. Therefore she was largely ignored, merely stood watching, but never acknowledged, only as a talentless child with a famous lineage.

Ochazuke had a heated argument with the Head Crane Fezzan over his brutal training methods, and this result in a daft wager that he could get a rank novice to surpass his best pupil in three months. This threw Aiko into the immediate forefront as he managed to foster strength and technique where none was acknowledged before, and as a result of their efforts Ochazuke advanced to head instructor and she was his prized understudy.

Everything changed when the Grand Master sent Ochazuke out on a mission. Several of her fellow students left with the Grand Master, but only Chahan returned, without Ochazuke. He never told her what happened, but she speculated. Left with little choice, Aiko, who now embodied the greatest strengths in the diminished ranks of the Crane, was selected as heir, and under Chahan's tutelage she was instructed in the centuries of tradition, including the use of Kikojutsu. When she learned of the fear the world had of the Crane School, she went to the World Tournament alone to make a statement to the world.

It was there she had a chance encounter with her long-lost Sensei and she began to realize the depth of her charge as Heir.

Other:

- Fukuhara translates to Lucky Field; Aiko translates to Love
- Ochazuke thinks her hair is stupidly impractical; as a result her footwork is impeccable.
- Theme: Aria – Electro

[grampagen]

The Iron Crane Enforcer, Fezzan

Race/Species: Human
Age: 31 (deceased)
Height/Weight: 6'4” 245lbs
Power Level:* ???
Style:* Crane School

History

The strength of the Crane School's leadership is a position stoked in a high level of competition. Students are beset against each other by the designes of their master to surpass one another. In years past, there was a particularlyheated rivalry between two of Chahan's students: Fezzan, an apprentice Turtle Monk who abandoned his training for power to become his right-hand man, and Ochazuke, a rising star who devoted himself to complete mastery of the techniques.

Fezzan took the Founder's philosophy of Ikken Hissatsu entirely literally, and focussed his capacity into mastering one to perfection and bringing it to new levels: the fundamental stance Sanchin. Using his ki to fashion an iron body, he claims it is his original technique, Tetsuzan no Kamae (Iron Mountain stance). The intiates snicker behind his back, but in over 200 fights this singular skill had allowed Fezzan to move largely uncontested, using the increased weight and power to break through an opponent's guard and end them.

In his heyday, his one specialized technique allowed Fezzan to fell several Turtle disciples in closed-door duels, and he grew in his mentor's esteem. His teaching philosophy was brutal, centred around the notion of a one-hit kill. Although he was the second highest ranking Crane he was a rather awful teacher, using authority as a means for dominance as he feared Chahan but fought for him unquestioningly. Chahan used him as an enforcer but soon groomed Ochazuke from the head of the class.

Years later he was charged to expand the Crane territory into the Southeast Coastal region beginning in Ori City. It was here that he was charged with training students to use as soldiers and muscle their way into the town. Invariable, he came into conflict with Kaibyo. A series of defeats from the Tiger Master stalled his operations and dispersed his students until Chahan had tasked Ochazuke with overseeing him.

After Ochazuke's perceived betrayal and death, with little recourse Chahan selected Fezzan as his heir and through illicit methods he expanded Crane operations through laundering projects, the monument of which was Tori Tower, a resplendent luxury tower built atop a dojo overlooking the waterfront, erected in a premature celebration over his victory over the Tiger School. His celebration was short-lived, as Kenshiko tracked him down and killed him by breaking his joints and drowning him in the Devata river; His body was never found.

A memorial is erected to him in the Crane dojo, posthumously recognizing him as a master though he never did anything really to earn that

Other:

-Fezzan is a pun on Pheasant, Jitori translates loosely to 'free-range chicken', Gusu is a transliteraion of Goose, Kamo and Nakard are translations of Duck, etc. The point is the names of him and his students are of tasty game fowl.
-He bears the incense marks of a monk's training and a shaven pate from stress-induced balding. He compensates for this with splendour and raw power.

Theme - Carpenter Brut -Turbo Killer

Iron Crane Consigliere, Jitori

Race/Species: Human
Age: 24
Height/Weight: 6'2” 200lbs
Power Level: ???
Style: Crane School

History:

The esteem of a house is measured in equal parts respect and fear; when it is no matter to slight a noble name, either in jest or in mockery, that is when it is in a decline. How quickly people forget the way they should tread before those who have the distinction of a worthy name.

If Aiko is the face of the Crane School, Jitori is the wings. Four years ago the successorship of Crane Grandmaster was settled. It had passed from Fezzan, a loyal enforcer who had served the Crane for close to a decade, to Aiko, Chahan's grand-neice from a foreign land. Upon the completion of her training from a method that broke with the iron-clad edict that made them so ruthless a sect in times gone by, her graceful technique and winning smile represents the future of the Crane School, especially in the light of her appearance at the World Tournament; however, this is just the veneer, the public face. There are sordid matters settled behind closed-doors that make an alliance with the Cranes a boon and enmity a fatal mistake.

The Crane School draws its power from its techniques, but its esteem from a wide array of networked alliances, from industries, politicians, even entire cities. Martial might may cede the moment, but relationships with the community are an investment, for this is a world of commodities, where philanthropy is exchanged for notice - or a lack thereof. This is the world the Grandmaster kept from his blood relation and relies on his loyal steward to maintain and represent him directly in his stead. For the glory of the Crane, Jitori, in his own subtle way, fights to keep him and his brethren on the winning side, even if it means ceding to his juniour Sensei.

Other:
- Jitori has lost his right eye, stuck blind and scarred by a Dodonpa from Ochazuke. Ironically his use of sunglasses makes him look more conspicuous.
- Is versed in practical and business law
- The corporate heir of Tori Industries, his portfolio is worth a substantial amount

Theme - Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck II (The Zoo) (Instrumental)

[grampagen]

The mysterious smiling cat, Tiger Master Kaibyo (怪猫)

Race/Species: Human
Age: 24 (deceased)
Height/Weight: 5'7/144 lbs
Appearance: Here
Power Level:* ?
Style:* Hakkyoku Ko-ou Ken (八極虎王拳 "Eight Limbs of the Tiger King")

Techniques

See: Kenshiko

Muso Hoho (無想歩法 “Movement of the Unburdened Mind”) A concept with many names - lucidity, wu wei, mushin – through her fighting perception she was able to effortlessly perceive what was around her and act without wasted thought or movement. Opposed to Kenshiko's classical style – which is direct and relatively easy to train in - Kaibyo had a certain subtle awareness that cannot easily be taught. To aid herself in reaching this state, she usually went into a fight liquored up.

Items:

Special Sauce – A bottle of rum and vermouth spiced with macerated vanilla and tamarind. It was both a source of inspiration and a glass prison.

Special:

She had a knack for figuring things out, to the point where she felt it prudent to dull her senses to focus on a precious few things or, alternatively, ignore the closing threats surrounding them. More often than not this was her excuse to wash away the noise of what she saw coming with drink.

History

Throughout the generations the Tiger Style practitioners had a particularly fierce rivalry with the Crane school which led to numerous closed-door challenges between the two factions. As time went on, the grit and tenacity required to carve a champion out of a novice was simply too much to bear, for their training was extremely taxing and the warriors produced dealt with a lifetime of accrued punishment. As masters aged and died, the lineage of the practice finally fell to the Twin Tigers of Ori City who struggled in vain to keep their practice alive.

Kaibyo was one of the lineage masters of the Tiger School and co-founder of the legacy art Hakkyoku Ko-ou Ken. She had a rivalry with the subordinate Crane School master in her area, Fezzan. Charged with the task of training ki adepts and with an assembly of ambitious students behind him handpicked by the Grand Master, Fezzan started muscling in on the bay area of Ori City. The secret war between these two schools soon spilled out to the streets, sometimes in subtle ways as Fezzan forcefully 'bought out' the locals, other times as the neighbourhood angrily fought back and was forcefully put down. Seeking refuge with the Tiger School, a number of fiery-blooded youths consolidated their efforts to push back, but though they had the heart, they ultimately didn't have the numbers or the talent to compete in any formal challenge. In a moment of weakness, out of options with her back to the wall, Kaibyo lashed out in a drunken haze. Reflexively and without a clouded thought in her head, she singlehandedly destroyed Fezzan's dojo to mete out her personal justice. And with that the quiet war had been reignited.

Ochazuke was an eyewitness to this clash, at that time a rival disciple of comparative rank to Fezzan, sent by Grandmaster Chahan to evaluate the progress of his training program. To amend for his counterpart's failure, he proposed to infiltrate the Tiger School as an assassination mission. In truth, this was a ruse to explore the art of their archrivals, for he recognized certain subtle movements in Kaibyo's technique and became entranced with where their arts intersected. Adopting the guise of the prospective student Zosui, he found the woman he was looking for at a rustic training camp far from the city centre and asked for tutelage. A firm mask sternly denied him at first, but slowly melted out as he continued to plead, moved by his persistence.

Then Kaibyo fell out from the utility closet she was eavesdropping from, sprawling over her stupour just enough to chastise her twin, Kenshiko, about cracking under pressure. And so 'Zosui' became a divide between the sisters, Kenshiko insisting he could, like clay, be sculpted from nothing, while her twin insisted they shouldn't take just anybody. As Ochazuke progressed doggedly through their hellish training regiment with a seemingly preternatural affinity aided by Kenshiko's fearsome guidance, Kaibyo spent more time in a bottle as lesser prospects washed out and their numbers continued to thin. While Kenshiko had the dedication, grit and passion of a head instructor and tirelessly sought to bring the best out of all her pupils, Kaibyo possessed the insight of a true master - if not the heart - and was able to intuit Ochazuke's motivations as the rigours of the Tiger School's training brought him physically to the breaking point. Cracks in the emotion and focus of the false neophyte exposed the hidden depth of his martial education, for the initiated can always recognize another.

On an evening after Kenshiko ceased the grueling daily training, Kaibyo confronted 'Zosui' and fired a ki blast at him, to which he instinctively responded with a Dodonpa, causing the fireball to swell and explode in a commanded backlash, which to her additional surprise did not immediately kill him. Weakened and exposed, she would have finished him that day but for the interference of her sister. Because Ochazuke kept her Kenshiko sharp, Kaibyo kept him around under the pretense of a live-in student, but in practice she effectively held him ransom; in body while he recovered from his wounds, and to his false identity in front of Kenshiko, who he had grown to genuinely respect.

Moved ever so slightly by his genuine dedication to studying their art, Kaibyo began tutoring Ochazuke personally in exchange for the location of Fezzan's Crane safehouses and demonstrations of the techniques. Blinded by ego and with the chance to wipe the blight of Fezzan from the Crane School's reputation, Ochazuke rationalized this as a way of cleansing his Master's honour of these mistakes, for what better way to expose the flaws in his rival's training by sending a strong opponent to test their mettle? Unbeknownst to him, it was the Grand Master of the Crane School himself who gave the order for their operations in the area. With such calculated damage accumulating to their operations, Chahan sent junior Crane disciples – those who Ochazuke himself had trained – to seek the lost member of their flock, concerned his prized protege had fallen to ransom or death. They soon found him fraternizing and reported the unthinkable - a defection.

Whether Kaibyo wanted to make up for mistaking his intention, or simply because he gave her a clear goal in a series of targets to wreck, when they confided their methods and sparred, she and Ochazuke began to elevate their respective arts and their understanding of each other. He found the body expanded as a vessel in sync with the ki of a fiery spirit, whereas she perhaps found a naive measure of hope that the senseless war between their schools could be ended. Soon obsessed with not the intersections but the whole of the Tiger Twins' techniques, Ochazuke disappeared into the busywork of her bequathed tasks for weeks, then focussed on mastering the knowledge she imparted for months. He gradually forgot his objective entirely as she coaxed him into their quid-pro-quo. Even when Kenshiko went on a last-ditch effort to gain more pupils in worldwide exhibition tour, 'Zosui' and Kaibyo only had attention for each other, and so with a smile in her heart she left the school in their capable hands.

Then the day came when Chahan himself came to Ori City. He announced his presence by shooting a Dodonpa through Ochazuke's back and lead the charge against the Tiger students himself. Presumed dead, Ochazuke slowly pulled himself from his demise using Kikojutsu, only able to stay alive enough to witness Kaibyo challenge Chahan from his vantage point on the floor. After kicking the wind out of the junior Cranes, the younger master seized the advantage through the insight she had into her opponent's technique, drawing strength from the tenacity to stake her life on every blow struck for the sake of her pride and legacy. As she began to turn the tide, Chahan suddenly gave the order to his students. Diminished but still alive, three students, Ochazuke's former juniours, threw themselves at her one by one with Kikojutsu suicide explosions in fanatical devotion to their master.

Other:
- Kaibyo translates roughly to “strange cat”, a term for a bewitching supernatural cat in Japanese folklore.
- Tora (Tiger) is a Japanese colloquialism for salaryman drunkards
- The elder twin of the two, Kaibyo was older than Kenshiko by about 4 minutes

Music

The Drunken Tiger: KOF '96 - Fairy
Ochazuke's Memories: Idealism – Phosphenes

[grampagen]

The Last Tiger, Kenshiko 剣歯虎

Race/Species: Human
Age: 28
Height/Weight: 5'9 154 lbs
Style: Eight limbs of the Tiger King Style (Hakkyoku Ko-ou ken)

Techniques

Ko-Ou Kudaku Ken (Tiger King Smashing fist): A defensive fireball; while it can be used in a basic manner, its true purpose is that when it clashes with another it slows and accumulates mass, eating sources of ki as it continues to smash forward to a detonation on her command.

Ko-Ou Restu Kyaku (Tiger King Splitting Kick): Energy projected through her limbs grants a cutting edge that slices through energy and matter alike. Extends the range of her attacks.

Tora Kara (Tiger's stripes): Kenshiko is able to mask her presence by feeding off her enemy's aura. The closer she gets physically to an opponent the more the opponent's ability to assemble their energy reduces. This suppressive tactic works best when based on fear and staying hidden, but once someone ascertains her presence, through a clash of wills their power may return.

Tekka Kagami (Iron Mirror): Limited absorption and reflection of ki blasts, either through direct contact or by touching an opponent.

Hakkyoku Ko-ou ken Ougi: Tora Shin Ken: (Tiger God Fist): The Tiger School's equivalent of the Kikoho. Instead of a blast it is a physical buff. The*shockwaves*of her movements can become as strong as ki blasts. Naturally the risk of use is that it may kill the user

Toushin (闘神 "War God"): The emergent synthesis of mastery derived from the Ten Schools of Zxu'ro; enhanced physical stats and ki control through sheer technique and cultivation of spiritual qualities.

Items:

The Scrolls of Zxu'ro – Facsimile copy of artifacts discovered by Samson Balon, archived by Jinzi Pantaloon; received from Ochazuke during her stay in Capital City Penitentiary
Prison Shank - Carved out of the plastic handle of a toothbrush with the shards of a broken mirror
Karambit knife [confiscated]

Special:
Her martial skill is refined to a prodigious level that can only be explained as "peak human"

History

Formerly one of the twin masters and heirs of the Ancestral Tiger style, Kenshiko and her twin sister Kaibyo created from the ancient art the Eight Limbs of the Tiger King Style. Throughout Ori City they were once notorious for their ferocity in combat, both from their lineage and their title, the Twin Tigers. However for all their strength, due to the demands of the style the numbers of their faction were few. Once she had unwavering faith in her pupils, and she would work with them closely to help raise them up to an understanding of her art. That hope for the future was taken from her when her sister and pupils were ultimately slaughtered by the Crane Master, Chahan. Left adrift without purpose, Kenshiko felt a burning rage fill the hole in her heart left by this void in her life.

Her talent for violence was noticed by Colonel Willa Rautt. and she found in the company of the Red Raiders a cause to fight for, and she turned the power of the Tiger School against the twisted, unjust world where violence is the only currency. Stripped of everything but the fight, she became akin wild predator in the field, and developed a reputation for her ferocity in combat. thirsting only for blood and domination.

In a twist of fate, her time with the Raiders did not end with death on the battlefield, but on a surprise ambush at their base led by Held Debron. Confronting the infiltration team of Meagan, Etrina and Shiro, through precise command and calculated sacrifices Kenshiko traded the lives of her elite Scarlet Squadron for the safe evacuation of the remainder of the troops, who remain at large. Prepared to face her end, her fanatical charge was cut short by Held who fell her unconscious, owing to a pact made with Ochazuke.

Grievously wounded, she was held captive and reunited with her former student on the Lookout and heard her commanding officer confess to her loss of vision. Her fighting spirit cooled by this complete ideological defeat, she surrendered to the custody of Jinzi Pantaloon's specially engineered K-Wing of Capital City Penitentiary. The last Tiger now counts the days to her final judgment as she comes to terms with the burning hollow in her life.

Tunes:

The Last Tiger: Soul Calibur 3 – Ephemeral Dream
The Blood-Red Master Sergeant: Judas Priest - The Sentinel
The Prisoner: Akira Yamaoka - One More Soul to the Call

Other:
- Kenshiko translates to “sabre-tooth tiger”
- Struck by copious and consummate misfortune usually involving the number 4, much of Kenshiko's bad luck has its roots in tetraphobia.
- Voice: Linda Hamilton

[grampagen]

Kamesennin Kuki 亀仙人躯鬼

Race/Species: Human
Age: 111
Height/Weight: 5'3" (161 cm) 156 lbs (71 kg)
Style: Turtle School; Sendo (The Way of the Hermit)

Techniques:

Koukaku Sanchin (甲殻三戦 "Carapace of the Three Conflicts")
By distorting space with ki, Kuki generates a defensive wall nigh-impervious to all forms of attack. Its weakness, however, was that an opponent could attack a blind spot overlooking protection of a specific part of his body and the practitioner cannot move while using this technique.

Seisui Tensho (静水転掌 "Flowing Water Turning Hand")
As a turtle's back diverts the claws of predator, so the defenses of a Turtle Master must be used not only to defend, but to counter. With the redirection.of the enemies' force, the enemy itself becomes Kuki's weapon to reposition or render as he chooses in a lock, throw, takedown, or disengagement.

Kyokushin Keihatsu (極真啓発 "Ultimate Truth Awareness")
In his solitude Kuki developed a technique of waking meditation. Combining the practice of mindful focus with the awareness of the living moment and the the acceptance of everything, through the medium of ki he created a sensory field to experience a heightened sense-awareness, and thus the ability to ascertain the true nature of things through energy interactions.

Zanzoken (残像拳 "Afterimage Technique")
A fundamental technique of the Turtle School. The unobservant mind is fooled by a movement as it seems to appear, rather than what it is. Concealing two movements in one, the user diverts the course of their motion behind an afterimage.

Nichirin Odama (日輪大魂 "Great Orb of the Rising Sun)
With the loss of his left arm, Kuki forms his ki projection in the form of orb projectiles. A modification of the Kamehameha to be thrown with one hand at optimum efficiency, he can throw many at once and summarily convert the orbs beams.

History

In the wilds of the North there is a place called the Frozen Fall, where the water hangs suspended forever stilled between mountains in a moment that shall never pass. Nearby, where a geothermal vent thaws snow fall to boiling hot springs, a Hermit lives on a meagre diet of roots, shoots, fruit and fungus. He was once an ambitious student of the Turtle School who diligently worked until he inherited the rank of master. Many prospective students came to him and he accepted them all, and through his leadership, he managed to secure a peaceful coexistence amid the backdrop of the Warring Schools. There was an understanding that since few could stand against him personally, those in his shadow were safe.

Still he found the limitations of his station stifling. Martial arts are meant to win wars; there hadn't been a war since the start of the rebellions in Vermillion City. He could not show the way to one who was blind to what the course entailed, and heaven knows there are a great deal of blind people drifting through his dojo doors. Some wanted to find strength, others wanted to test themsleves, still other cynics wanted to try and challenge an old man and were sent packing, only to come back to find strength after asking nicely to wash his floors. Kuki found such pursuits...empty. Meaningless. His practice was reduced to splitting his attention between carrying a weight on his back as a show of force, and the fruit of such labours was a garden of weeds.

He found he couldn't stand most people. Really, the bulk of fights he'd seen in his time were clashes over schools. Superior style! What a concept! Unless there were human beings with three arms and four legs out there, there can be no different style of fighting. Well-preserved for his age at that time, he started to leave the bonds of master and student behind when the ambitions of the world simply no longer aligned with his. With his student Eskrimato far more passionate about teaching and more eager to demonstrate his skills, he left the stewardship of the Turtle School in his (much more) capable hands to find its way in these new times and left to find his in solitude.

Legends say the Master of Masters, the Obushi-Sennin, lived to 108 years. He'd soon outlive that number. What's to do after your goal is reached? A waking realization dawned on him when he happened upon a Yeti, a creature thought lost to legend. To fell the creature, it cost him his left arm. In spite of his age he nearly had it all snatched away in a moment of happenstance. In his brush with death as he bled out into the snow, he realized there was training to have yet, and he had not yet begun to approach the threshold of his limits. Mindful of the days he could only live on, with nothing but the ritualized secret to increasing the length of his life by sacrificing everything else. And so Kuki found his reason, his peace, and the end of his pursuit to perfection. Humble means for a humble life. But what was the point?

He lived this long seeking to find his truth in solitude and found himself embroiled in saving a life - and he'd come all the way up here to avoid people. Yet on one of his daily treks poking at the clusters of berry bushes that grew in pockets among the snow, he happened upon another aimless wanderer in the North, a man named Ochazuke, who lay starved and wounded where he crawled out of a pocket of avalanche snow. He brought him to his humble abode and found his reputation preceded him, superceding even the divisions of the Five Schools. Perhaps he had pity on the dying man, or maybe he saw they had in common a crisis which forced them to apostacy. Whatever the case, once his wounds had healed, Kuki found himself on the path of mentorship once more. Unrestrained by the limits of his former dojo, he educated Ochazuke in the esoteric path of the living way of the warrior in every facet from day to day.

After a year of training, his brief apprentice decided to depart, declaring he had enough of hiding. He invited the hermit to come with him, but Kuki stated he had his own path, and so set in his ways, he'd only slow the young man down. Like the Frozen Fall, he'd become fixed to his place and was so settled he couldn't change; but like the hot springs he enjoyed so, perhaps his lasting deed was to reinvigorate the spirit of this world. After all, that was the greatest pleasure a sensei could pledge to his student. A Crane may live 1000 years, and the Tortoise can reach 10,000. What a thing it would be to meet again once they made it across that span of time!

With the changing winds of time, the Turtle Master's hermitage has been serendipitous destroyed. Now the man who abandoned the earth has seen fit to wander it once more!

Tunes:

The Recluse: Capcom vs SNK - Silent Hill
Rock vs River: Tai Chi Master

Other:
- Kuki translates loosely to Corpse Ogre; or phonetically, cookie.
- He talks with the broken cadance of a man who has forgotten how to speak, a habit loosed from more than thirty years in complete isolation.
- Long ago his pet tortoise Ishi had a fight with Guza. After a long, grueling, clumsy duel with an inconclusive outcome, they departed to different ends of the earth seeking masters to train under for a rematch in the future.