User Profile

⌈ Two ⌋ Takekura Tetsuyuki smiles a lot. He's a laid back, friendly guy. Charming in a rough, unpolished way. A calm, cheerful cynic in a world that knows it's dying. He's the friend that will lend you money knowing that you can't pay him back. He's the acquaintance that's always willing to play a game of cards in the rain. He's the stranger that will mercy-kill you if you ask him to, no questions asked. He says, save your breath. Call me Tex.

⌈ Three ⌋ Tex was born a few centuries too late. Or so they say; he doesn't believe it himself. Horses and meadows and homes on the range? Mm. Boring. He prefers his own life, as dark and hectic it is. It's more fun to watch. And occasionally, participate in.

⌈ Four ⌋ But, on second thought, they might be right about Tex in some aspects. He's the first to admit it with a smile and a shrug; other people probably would know better. After all, he never gives much deep thought into himself. What's the point? Nothing to think about but his future and his past, neither of which he particularly cares for, and as for his present, well, he's in it, isn't he?

⌈ Five ⌋ It might be nice to have lived back then, though, Tex thinks sometimes. Stretches out by a heater, arms behind his head, imagines it's a campfire and the crumbling ceiling above him is a starry sky. It's nice, sometimes nicer than reality. But then, he reasons, that's just a different kind of freedom from the one he already has. Besides, he'd miss the city.

⌈ Six ⌋ There is one thing, though, that Tex wishes he could bring back from his imagination. It's the others there with him, sitting by the fire, hazy figures who pass around bottles of moonshine and trade stories that they'd never dream of telling around the women. Low voices and casual laughter. They understand him, and he them, like no one else he knows from the present. They know why he is the way he is. They share the same code.

⌈ Seven ⌋ Tex lives by that code: do what you have to; do what you can. Two phrases, one bad, one good, one first, one second. It's a harsh land and survival is a full-time job; he knows that better than anybody. Turn off the morals, turn off the pride: do what you have to. But there's no reason not to help someone else if he sees the opportunity. Kill the father, but save the child by dropping him off somewhere safe: do what you can. Maybe the good deed'll come back to you later, maybe it won't; it's not about guarantees, and he trusts himself more than karma, anyway.

⌈ Eight ⌋ Those that assume that Tex is outdated, though, are wrong. He can say that one with certainty; the fact that he's still breathing is proof enough. He's clever. Capable. Adaptable. Smart enough to count cards and smart enough to know when he shouldn't. Able to be as serious and emotionless and businesslike as you'd like, but he sees no point in being that way, unless necessary. He'll be fine as he is until he's no longer fine as he is, won't he? Mm. He'll think about changing when he gets there.

⌈ Nine ⌋ One thing, though, Tex seems to constantly have on his mind. Or at least, he seems to when he goes outside. Paranoia? Slightly, maybe. But more a restless, nervous energy, threatening to overflow if he isn't constantly engaging his interest in some activity or other.

⌈ Ten ⌋ Oh right, and the deep dark secret that everyone's been waiting for. Everyone's got one, right? Here's his. Tex cheats at cards. And he's damn good at it, too. Don't tell anybody.

Name: Takekura "Tex" Tetsuyuki.
Sex: Male.
Age: 28.
Race: Japanese/American.
Height: 5'11".
Weight: 171.
Hair: Dark brown.
Eyes: Black.

Faction: Neutral; ex-Zerodantai.

Born and raised in the city and having passed the entrance exams for the Zerodantai at 18, Takekura found himself rising quickly through the ranks of the corporate mafia. Maybe too quickly. Didn't give him enough time to adjust, to see things their way, to let him convince himself that the ends justified the means.

By the time he was 24, he'd seen enough corruption, in the Zerodantai and the Kuushuugou both.

And by the time he was 25, he was gone.

They said he died during the Kuushuugou bombing of a local popular Zerodantai hangout. They found his jacket, his wallet, his ID, all the most important things to a Zerodantai, littered on the ground along with the rest. With no family to report to and his friends dead along with him in the explosion, the Zerodantai merely changed all appropriate passwords didn't bother to investigate further.

However, he, of course, had been severely wounded but had survived. Unable to get help from a hospital in case of being recognized, he was forced to let the wounds heal naturally, leaving dozens of scars across his back. Since then, Takekura's changed his name, grown his hair out, and gotten himself a new ID. And he's living in relative peace in the city, not wanting anything to do with either the Zerodantai or the Kuushuugou.

In Short:

Jittery but calm. Lazy, intelligent eyes and fingers like quicksilver. Friendly enough. Honest enough. Likes handheld weapons and unfiltered cigarettes. Laid back and a bit silly, half to disguise his true intelligence, half just for plain fun. He is what he is. And he's hard to describe.

In Long:

⌈ One ⌋ Other than the fact that he's ex-Zerodantai, which he feels no one needs to know, Takekura Tetsuyuki is exactly what he says he is. A half-Japanese freelancer, doing whatever he has to and whatever he can to survive. Theft, assault, murder, assassination, the other odd job. But only if he has to. He's got a good heart. All that, he'll tell you straight up, with a straight face and probably a crooked smile. You want a business card?