OUT OF CHARACTER
Name: Hotaru
Personal Journal: hailingjavelin
Age: 23
Contact: hailingjavelin@plurk
Characters Played: n/a
IN CHARACTER
Name: Himemaru
Canon: Rappi Rangai
Age: 16
Timeline: chapter 13
Age Up?: no
Background: here
Personality:
So, Himemaru is not your most common kunoichi. After all, he's actually a man, and shouldn't be a female ninja. Why is he one either way, you ask? Because he's beautiful! No, seriously, his main reason for becoming a kunoichi instead of a normal shinobi is because he finds himself to be the prettiest person in the entire Iga clan. His opinion isn't baseless, though, because he is very pretty, and easily goes for a woman. Basically, the biggest part about Himemaru is his narcissism. He loves pretty clothes, and much prefers the female fashion over the male, is very picky about his hygene, and that his hair looks good. Actually his long (for a man from the early Sengoku era) hair is something he's proud in, just as much as he is about the rest of his appearance. But he actually likes his hair not only because of his narcissism. He's got the same smooth and shiny hair as his mother did, and it's the same color. She died when he was very young, and his appearance is the only thing that he has to remind him of his mother. So when his father, who is a samurai, wanted Himemaru to cut it and put it up in a chonmage, Himemaru went as far as to challenge him in a duel with his hair as a price. When Himemaru seemingly lost, he started crying, pleading for his father to not cut it.
Those tears and pleas, however, were a mask, to make his father let down his guard. Because Himemaru is sly as a fox, who will use any kind of deception to get his ways. That's part of why he pretends to be a woman, to seduce men into doing anything he wants. Seduction is one of his specialities, actually, and he uses all his smooth-talking skills and his body to reach his dream. He's also ruthless, most of all toward his father. To trick him, he didn't feel any shame at all to tear at his father's heart, or to sock him in the balls to get him down, even after he had lost. Himemaru fights dirty, see.
His dream is to marry a rich man, and become a trophy wife. Because while he actually works hard to reach his goals, he's actually a pretty lazy person. Anyway, Himemaru absolutely loves money, because if you have money, you don't have to work your ass off, and you can just do whatever you would like to. Besides, if you're rich, you can put more time in your appearance, and can buy any amount of pretty clothes that you'd like.
He shows dedication to the lord he has been chosen to serve, Raizou of the Katana family. He is one of the four kunoichi that serves the Katana family, and who are going to help their lord to find a princess to marry, so that the Katana family can be restored to glory. His dedication isn't exactly for his sense of duty, though, because he doesn't really have anything like that. In the beginning, he only wanted to seduce their lord for the sake of money and wealth, but by now he has fallen for him for real. It's not exactly a secret that Himemaru plans on seducing him, because he outright talks about seducing Raizou, even in front of him. But his dedication stretches far, even so far that he'd use his body to seduce any man for Raizou's sake – though it's also for his own ends, of course; if he manages to get himself a rich man, he'll be pleased.
Because of his father though, he actually dislikes samurai, despite planning to marry one. If they're rich, obviously. His father, as the head of the Hattori clan, wants Himemaru to take the same path, and lead the clan after him. Because Himemaru is Hattori Juuzou's only son and he had extremely high expectations on the boy. But in his dedication to make Himemaru into a strong Iga samurai, his father went a bit over the top, and while his father says that he raised Himemaru too soft, Himemaru would not agree. He'll tell those that finds out that it was hell, especially after his mother died. He was allowed little rest, forced to train day and night in various things like horseback riding, sword, book studies etc. When Himemaru protested, he was met with fists first, and words later. Because he thought that ”if this continues, I might kill dad” he ran away when he was 7 and went to the Iga kunoichi village. He really doesn't want anyone to know that he comes from an old and prestigious family of samurai. So to some extent, he's not too fond of hard work, which is part of why he's a lazy person, and also the reason behind his hate of formal things. Formal things (like samurai) are just a bother and an annoynace and completely hateful. The formal life of a samurai is the opposite of what he wants. He wants freedom, as much as he wants wealth. And a ninja's life is so much freer than what he grew up with.
When Himemaru is in love, he's like young maiden in love. With a racing heart and stars in his eyes. He is pure and innocent, but might be a little obsessed. Like when they had a tea ceremony and he wanted to drink from the same spot on the cup as Raizou did. Though he was not the only one, and he is a competitive person, quick to violence if things doesn't go his way because of someone that he dislikes. So he can become a bit violent if he's jealous, and if he sees an opportunity, he might get star-eyed for completely different reasons. That is, with a plan to get his way and get a little closer to his goal.
But he's a confident young man, who knows that he's a good fighter (despite lacking experience due to his age) a skilled seductress who uses his looks as an advantage any way that he can, and also in medicine. He's much better at poison than medicine, however, and has more than once managed to poison himself in the process of making medicines. His special ninja technique, however, involves shibari – japanese bondage. He's very good with any kind of rope and string, and can do many various things with them.
He claims to be a very delicate person, despite having been taught, as a kunoichi, to be able to withstand intense pain. He would at least like you to know that he is much more delicate than Kagari will ever be. He might – no, there is no might, he would – even pretend to be sick, even after he's gotten back to health. Because you see, he loves being taken care of (most of all by guys that he likes – even more if they're rich – and even more so, if it's his lord) and being fussed over, like a lover does the one they care about. Being pampered is one of Himemaru's favorite things, really.
Powers: Skilled in making poison and medicines, half in laying traps, skilled at fighting, and his special technique involves ropes. He's very skilled with ropes. His best technique is Higyaku no Shibari, which wraps ropes around the target in a way that makes his target's movements painful. Another thing he can do with strings, is hypnotize people to do or say anything that he wants them to. He needs a shamisen for that, though.
Do you want a power wipe? no
Humanization: no
Suitcase: a "Magazine" conaining the most eligeble/desired Bachelors among the samurai lods/families, tea, a few kanzashi, kiseru, Tobacco, geta, a mirror, and some of his pretty clothes.
Surprise? yes please
Other Notables: he wants all the pretty dresses and then for you to call him pretty
SAMPLES
Network Sample:
[ While this is most certainly NOT his thing - when you need to send messages, or contact someone, you use birds, or you send a messenger - Himemaru will always put fashion before his own discomfort over talking to someone. Or through a most peculiar device that simply HAS to be magic of some sort. ]
Good afteernoon, everyone.
[ He has a calm and collected look on his face, and is pretending to be quite delicate. Which, in reality, he is not. He is also pretending to be a woman, but that, he tends to do most of the time. ]
I am afraid that I will have to bother you for a minute or two, and I do hope that you do not mind all too much. My name is Himemaru, and I serve Raizou-sama of the Katana family. I have been informed that Milord is not present in this odd little place at the moment, however, I would so very much like to be presentable, if he does stumble upon this place.
[ Also, he has to always look better than that little minx Kagari, alright? ]
Due to that reason, I wish to know if there are any materials whatsoever that I could use to create a respectable outfit to greet him with. A simple young girl of the court [ which he is not ] simply cannot meet her master after not having seen him for a long time in a drab, uncomely attire, it simply will not do.
[ He bows smoothly, and is quite graceful about it (he has practiced how to do it without disappearaing out of the image), not a hair out of place as he rises. ]
If you were to know of anything, anything at all, that I could find some use in, I would be most grateful.
Threads: one two three four
( optional ) Third Person Sample:
Himemaru isn't too pleased about the clothes he had found in the closet. They might suit him – because when did clothes not suit him – but he didn't like them. They were not his style, and were quite boring and not risque enough.
Which obviously means that he had to go find something else, much more appropriate for a pretty kunoichi of his caliber.
So, he has found himself in the shopping district, and is picking up different articles of clothing, inspecting them closely. Everything is important; how the fabric feels, of course, but most of all how the clothes look. No, even more importantly is that the clothes looked good when he wore them.
He turns to the person closest, completely ignoring that it might be a complete stranger. ”Say, this would suit me, don't you think?” he asks, completely serious with the inquiry about the shirt, blouse, skirt, dress, or whatever kind of piece it might be.