Nakamura, Akimoto (Finished)

Name: Akimoto Nakamura
Age: 109/ Appears in mid-late 30’s
Gender: Male




Height and weight: 5'3”/112 lbs
Hair and eye color: Brown/long (ponytail)
Appearance: Akimoto is fairly short and slim, but he is well built. He usually wears his long hair in a ponytail to keep it out of his way. Across his eyes he wears a white cloth, wrapped several times around his head. Being blind, he has no need to have his eyes open, and the cloth prevent environmental hazards (sand, dust, etc) from causing him pain. His clothes consist of a sleeveless vest and long pants that are white. The garb looks very sleek, but also is very functional. It allows him to move freely in all aspects of life.

While not very muscular, Akimoto is toned. His abs show, but do not dominate his midsection. His arms have muscle to them, yet are slender. His skin tone is white, but he has a slight tan to him. Slight scars litter his body enough to show that he is a warrior, but not enough to make him unattractive. His body is very compact, yet it holds a lot of power, as he had to fight his entire life in order to survive.



Personality: Akimoto is a fairly calm guy. He likes joking around, but his lack of friends means he doesn’t get to that often. During battle, he becomes somewhat of an asshole, as he loves taunting and mocking his opponent. He hates holding back, so he goes straight for victory as soon as battle starts. Those who hold back their power deserve to be punished. How better to punish them by running them over before they even have a chance to show their true power?

The few friends Aki has are lucky indeed, as this is a rare occurrence. Generally, if you haven’t proven yourself to him, he either ignores you completely or is very brief in your presence. This leads to fewer friends, but he doesn’t care. ‘Quality over quantity’ is one of his favorite sayings.

He doesn’t seclude himself away from people, but he does usually find quieter places. As per noise bothers him, standing in the middle of a crowd is not a place he will be found. He likes the back alleys behind bars, often just milling around there. His time spent there means he will end up in more fights, which he thoroughly enjoys. The aggressive attitudes of drunkards means that he will get to fight them more often.

He never mentions his blindness to other people, and sometimes tells them that he actually isn’t blind, the cloth over his eyes is just so he can test himself. The only people that actually know he is blind are his friends and those who have seen him without the cloth. Blindness isn’t a flaw to him, it is a way to make his opponents underestimate him. He doesn’t use the inability to see as an excuse for anything. If he cant do everything a normal person can, then he just needs to try harder.

Strengths:

• Thick Skin: Not in the sense that he is tough physically, but rather mentally. There has been so much abuse and torment in his life that he has simply become immune to verbal assaults. It takes so much to get under his skin that by the time you do, you will have aged quite a lot.
  
• Loyalty: When you are finally able to get Aki to call you a friend, you know that you will be safe. The loyalty he had to his very few friends is so strong that he is willing to protect them through thick and thin. Although you might find it odd being protected by a blind guy.
  
• Fearless: It is not that Akimoto is brave or anything, but more along the lines that he has a lack of fear. Nothing scares him, even when he feels like it should. Most people call it stupidity, but Aki views it as a means to do more than the average man.
  
• Stubborn: When he sets his mind to something, he does it. Period. Stand in his way, and he is liable to run you over, wiping his feet as he goes. This determination occasionally gets him into trouble, but that is okay with him. As long as he can accomplish his goals, a little pain is fine.

Weaknesses:

• Loyalty: Combined with his stubbornness, this is a disaster waiting to happen. He is willing to protect his few friends with his life. Even if they told him to leave the situation to them, he most certainly wouldn't. He would throw his life on the line to keep them alive.
  
• Cold: Having the thick skin to protect him from the abuse of people that have ill-will towards him has a nasty side-effect. It has become difficult for Akimoto to realize when someone is being friendly towards him. He will eventually realize it, but by then the other person may view him as cold or rude. Aki doesn't react well to it either, as he is not entirely used to it.
  
• Over-Zealous: Akimoto is always out to prove himself to those around him. He tries to prove that he can do everything they can even though he is blind. More often than not, he tries to show he can do more than they can. Often times, he gets into a lot of trouble because of this. By fighting the toughest guy, or doing the most daring feat, he thinks that he could find a friend or two.
  
• Energy: Most might view this as a strength, and Akimoto does as well, but the truth is his energy makes him want to get up and go do things all the time. Even if he is on his death-bed, he would still try to get up and go prove himself. It wouldn't matter if he was ill or torn to bits and pieces in a fight, he would still try to go and get something done. All it does is cause him more pain.

History: Even in his earliest memories he was blind. His mother told him it was a birth defect, but Akimoto knew the truth. His father was laughing about it one night when he was drunk.

Long ago, when he was a baby in a crib, was when it happened. In a rage, not even drunk, Aki's father had gotten pissed at his wife. He began attacking Aki’s mother, beating her with the fire-stoker, until she began to scream. Her pain-filled yells caused the young child to cry, infuriating Murphy even more. He had turned to the baby and, with a swift strike of the hot iron in his hand, silenced the child. Along with leaving a burn scar along the entirety of Akimoto’s eyes.

Growing up without his eyes made him the target of many assaults on the schoolyard. The boys in the country he lived in knew not the meaning of tolerance. They had decided that Akimoto’s lack of sight meant he was a weakling, to be bullied and looted daily. His father having no love for him, and his mother dead – long since killed by his father – he had no way of defending himself except for learning to fight.

All through his schooling he fought. Daily, he had to defend himself. The stubbornness of the bullies in the countryside he lived in forced him to train fervently. He eventually became so adept at brawling that the bullies soon began avoiding him. His bitter hatred toward them prevented it from ending there, however. So he became the bully, seeking out all the individuals that had pestered him in the past. One by one, he took them down.

Once he grew up, he still received hatred from people of all different walks alike. But not because of his blindness. They spat at him because he could feel their emotions. It was as if they were emanating their feelings outward. That wasn’t the reason even. It was the fact that whenever a person felt disgust or anger toward him, he would strike them down without question. If someone yelled at him in any way, shape, or form, he would kill them. Yelling and screaming caused him to think of his parents, and then there was no mercy in the slightest.

On the day of his death, Akimoto was in an excellent mood. He hadn’t been annoyed by anything all day, and the warm sunlight was making him smile. Sitting at the bar of a small bar near his home, a fight began behind him. The two involved were staggering drunk, and he thought it best to stay out of it. He could smell them from where he sat, and honestly wanted no part of it. The winner of the fight, feeling empowered, was one of the old bullies from Aki’s school years. In his drunken stupor, he miraculously managed to recognize Akimoto at the bar, and decided he wanted to continue fighting. He challenged the “blind prick at the bar” to a fight, practically screaming his words. Aki declined this challenge, telling the man that he was in too good of a mood to fight him, and then politely asked him if he could keep his voice down. The next thing Akimoto heard was a gunshot, and then he could feel nothing.

Written sample:

Quote :

It was nighttime when Akimoto Nakamura awoke. He could tell by the chill in the air. Sitting up in bed, he felt around for his shirt. It must be here somewhere, as he hadn't taken it off until he got to his bedroom last night. Finding it on the floor to his right, the man began to turn the shirt this way and that, finding the right orientation of the shirt before putting it on. Feeling the cloth flow over his torso was one of his favorite feelings. It was almost good enough to make him sit in bed all day taking his shirt off and putting it back on. Almost.

Getting up out of bed, a sharp pain hit him in the ribs. Touching the area tenderly, he remembered the fight he had been in last earlier today. Some fool had started drinking early, and was drunk well before noon. The dumb bastard tried to start something with Aki as he meandered past towards the market. Ignoring his harsh words and anger, Akimoto continued along until the man got in front of him. The man reeked of alcohol, and Aki remembered the sound of a gun being cocked. The sound originated about three feet in front of him, at about eye level for Akimoto. He knew that he could easily disarm the man if he wanted to. The gun pointed at him was a true threat, but the drunkard behind it was not a threat at all. Kicking his right leg up, Aki felt his foot connect with flesh and steel, which sent the pistol flying. No sooner had his foot hit the ground than did Aki launch himself forwards, smashing his forehead into the chest of the asshole in front of him.

From there the battle progressed into an Akimoto victory, but not until after the man landed a good knee into his ribs. Oh well. The only downside was that he had never made it to the market as he had planned on in the first place. Aki sighed. Looked like that would be the mission of today. The market possessed the food that he needed. Desperately. He hadn't had a good meal in over a week. Bread and cheese were hardly enough to keep him satiated, especially when he was constantly in a fight or three everyday. Swinging his legs off the bed, Akimoto carefully stood up. Stretching his tired limbs, he began to maneuver his way through his two room shack of a home. Splashing a bit of water on his face from the sink, he turned and began the long journey to food by stepping out his front door.

The trek ahead of him was a long one, about five miles he was told once. He knew the way by heart now, as he had been making it since his childhood. It was a relatively straight walk, which was good. It meant that there were less turns that he could miss. The chill of the night air was slowly beginning to wane, and Akimoto knew that morning was approaching. There would be about a half hour of cold and a shift in the wind, which would signal the sunrise. Rubbing his arms vigorously, Akimoto could feel the cold seeping into him. Soon he would be able to feel the sun's rays, but until then the cold would be his friend.

A good bit of time passed, and his journey was about half over. The warmth of the sun was upon him, and had been for some time now. People were beginning to wake up and mill about, and some businesses were open. Smelling the sweet aroma of fresh pastries, Akimoto waved casually to his left, “Hello Fumiko!” A quick 'good morning' was heard, followed by a 'catch'. Hearing something whistling through the air, he instinctively caught it with his left hand. Smelling the object, he realized it was a sweet roll, fresh from the oven. Bowing slightly, Akimoto sank his teeth into the delicious treat. His tongue having not tasted something this good in such a long time, a small tear formed in his right eye. It was immediately soaked up by the cloth wrap over his eyes, but the emotion stayed. “Thank you Fumiko! So much!”

Nearing the bustling sounds of the marketplace, Aki began to smell his way to the proper vendors of food. Purchasing as much food as he could (a loaf of bread, a small brick of cheese, and a couple of potatoes), Akimoto began to make his way back through the crowd of people. As his feet took him to the outskirts of the marketplace, a familiar voice hit his ears. “You owe me all that food for starting a fight with me yesterday, you little shit.” Akimoto winced at the horrid sound of the drunkard's voice as it grated against his eardrums. Without a reply, he continued his way towards the distant shack he called home. That is, until a hand was placed upon his chest. The bag of food in his left hand, Aki struck out with his right palm, hitting the forearm attached to the hand. A satisfying crack was heard, followed by the awful voice of the man attached to the forearm. Akimoto was not in the mood to fight today, and if it could be prevented, he would take that route. Unless it meant giving up his food. Then this man might die.

Hearing multiple voices around him, Aki realized that the man had brought a friend or two this time. Setting the food underneath him, the blind man calmly said, “I am not about to give you my food. You are welcome to come and take it, but I warn you, you may die in the process,” and with that, he spread his feet a little and raised his hands up to chest level. When the first man came in to attack, his feet scuffed the ground about a leg's length from Aki, which prompted a violent palm-strike to the chest. As he extended, Aki heard another man behind him, whose footsteps were loud as thunder. Crouching low, the blind man made a leg sweep and, when it connected with the ankle of the large man attempting a sneak attack, struck with another palm-strike where he thought the knee might be. Missing a bit low, Akimoto instead heard the snapping of his large opponent's shin. That would work just fine. Turning to where the drunkard's raspy breathing came from, Aki whispered, “Come now, its your turn.”

Hmmm, the ability of empathy. Since this allows you to tap into the emotions of other people it has the potential to give you an unfair advantage over them as a result I ask that you remove this from your application. Apart from that your golden, once this has been done I'll be happy to approve your character. ^w^

Done and done sir =)