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Soubi Agatsuma ([personal profile] blankfighter) wrote2012-12-12 07:35 pm
Entry tags:

Application to Maison de Portes

Character: Soubi Agatsuma
Canon: Loveless
Version: Manga
Canon Point: Midway through chapter 41, just before his phone rings
Age: 20
Gender: Male



History:
Soubi's parents died when he was very young, and he was taken in by a man called Ritsu. Ritsu recognised Soubi as a rare type of Fighter known as a Blank and began training him to be a Fighter – someone who will use words to battle and affect the world around them. Ritsu was very harsh with Soubi, demanding nothing less than perfection. Among other things in the name of training, Ritsu whipped him methodically to increase his pain tolerance. Ritsu also raped/seduced him, taking his ears (a physical manifestation of virginity), because he reminded Ritsu of Soubi's mother.

As Soubi grew older, he began to accept Ritsu's training as his lot in life, and assimilated the mantras he was taught as part of himself. He knew that he was a Blank Fighter, to be paired with a Sacrifice to make them more powerful, and expected that Sacrifice to be Ritsu, as he knew the man's former Fighter was dead. He was sorely disappointed when Ritsu told him he was to be given to a boy called Seimei Aoyagi, as he'd grown attached to Ritsu.

One of Seimei's first acts as his new master was to carve his bond name, Beloved, into Soubi's collarbones with a knife. He was just as callous and cruel as Ritsu had been to Soubi, if not more, choosing words as his main weapon and ordering Soubi to injure himself. He constantly toyed with Soubi's emotions, seeming nothing but amused at the devotion Soubi showed for him. Soubi gained a sort of fame as Seimei's Fighter – they grew in reputation as being undefeatable, the 'Perfect Fighter' trained by Ritsu and bonded with Beloved.

There came a time where Seimei needed to fake his own death because of conflict with the Seven Moons (a group involved in finding and training bond pairs), whom he had probably betrayed. Some time beforehand, he told Soubi that "If anything happens to me, you belong to Ritsuka" – Seimei's younger brother. Soubi was unaware that Seimei's death was faked, and suffered through the anguish of losing a bond as if it was real.

Two years later, tired of waiting for Ritsuka to come to him, Soubi showed up at Ritsuka's school, and informed him that he was his Fighter, and that Seimei had left him to Ritsuka. He was surprised to find that Ritsuka knew nothing of the system of battling or of Fighters and Sacrifices. Ritsuka was more interested in the fact that Soubi knew his 'dead' brother, whom he hero-worshipped.

They talk together in a park for a while, with Ritsuka taking many pictures to save as 'memories' of their time together. Soubi surprised Ritsuka with a kiss, telling him that their bond together must be stronger and deeper than any other – it is likely he's trying to instigate a bond link with Ritsuka here. Before he can explain, Soubi is surprised by the presence of another pair nearby, Breathless, who have come to fetch Ritsuka on the orders of a group known as the Seven Moons. They are surprised to see Soubi there, as common perception was that he died when Seimei did. Soubi fights on 'auto' – just the Fighter alone, without a Sacrifice – and trounces Breathless handily, teleporting them away from the park.

Ritsuka goes home after this to search for Seimei's will – he finds it on the computer that's been turned off since he died. Soubi snuck up to his balcony, and tells Ritsuka that his Name is Loveless, which is the password for the file with Seimei's will in it. It is very short, simply telling Ritsuka that he was killed by the Seven Moons, and that he has given his Fighter to Ritsuka.

Soubi reveals that it was Seimei's command to "fall in love with Ritsuka", but Ritsuka demands Soubi stop saying he loves him; that it was wrong to be commanded to be in love with someone. Over the course of the story, Soubi comes to truly care for him. He acts like a protective older brother, and is very possessive of Ritsuka and his place in the boy's life.

Ritsuka was searching for the truth about Seimei's death, and he commanded Soubi to tell him everything that he knew. Soubi couldn't share anything, likely because of orders given by Seimei prior to his "death". Ritsuka has a different perception of Seimei to most other people, as his brother acted differently around him – to most, he was callous and standoffish, finicky about being touched by others. Ritsuka knew him as a loving older brother who protected him from their abusive mother.

The fact that Soubi now fights for Ritsuka as "Loveless", is considered taboo because there is not a name-based Fighter/Sacrifice bond between them. The lack of this bond causes their power to be halved, and in Soubi's case, his "Beloved" markings bleed in battle. Various pairs of Fighters come to try their hand at battling Loveless – and by extension, the famous 'perfect fighter' Soubi. Ritsuka is uncomfortable with the ritualistic and brutal nature of battles, and often breaks the rules of how battles are 'supposed' to be fought.

One of the pairs that come to fight them are known as "Zero" – an artificially created pair who cannot feel pain. They defeat Soubi when he attempts to fight them on his own, and nail his hand to the ground. Later, Soubi fights them again with Ritsuka by his side, and defeats them by changing the weather to bitter cold – they cannot feel the temperature change, so collapse midway through the fight. Soubi feels sorry for them when he realises they are not allowed to return to their master, having failed to defeat Soubi, and invites them to stay at his house. For all their psychopathic traits, Soubi becomes quite fond of them, recognising some of his younger self in how they act.

At first, Soubi was reluctant to involve Ritsuka in the battles, but his hand was forced by Zero telling Ritsuka the reason Soubi was hurt so much was because he fights alone – and that they are not truly bonded, because Ritsuka cannot hear Soubi if he calls, and does not know when he fights.

Soubi later finds Seimei's true Fighter, Nisei Akame spying on Ritsuka (presumably on Seimei's orders). Nisei's apparent hatred for Soubi and jealousy as a fellow Fighter leads him to call Seimei, to let Soubi "hear the voice you want to hear most...Or is it the voice you want to hear least?" When Soubi hears Seimei's voice over speaker phone, he is shocked and upset, not only because Seimei is very much alive, but that he has found his matching Fighter and seems to value him more.

Later, he goes to Ritsuka's house and says, "I'm begging you Ritsuka. Run away and take me with you... If you don't, I don't know what might happen. Please. I might become a despicable being,", showing the extent that he was affected by the incident, and his fear that Seimei will command him to do something horrible. Ritsuka tells Soubi that they are not going to run away – they will stand and face this. He then gives Soubi a key to his house to replace the one Soubi was given by Seimei. Though they're exactly the same, Ritsuka demands he replace it anyway. Soubi acts quite confusingly (in Ritsuka's eyes) in response, pinning him against the door, and then quietly admitting he "wishes you would hold me." Ritsuka calls him an idiot for thinking he wouldn't, and promptly does so.

It's after leaving the house that Soubi is transferred to Maison.

Personality:
He acts like a loner, though he has a very real need for company – his abusive past means he's starved of affectionate touch and experiences. But this also means he has a hard time letting anyone get close, and his stand-offish and sometimes rude demeanour means that most people are disinclined to try to pierce his spiky hedgehog exterior. He speaks his mind, more honestly than most social norms dictate is acceptable, and he has a streak of wry humour, enjoying people's flustered reactions to his attitude. He is who he is, and whether he fits in with other people doesn't matter to him; only his master's approval does.

Soubi smiles at the world when he’s breaking inside – to be perfect means to not even show your pain, so he hides it behind happy smiles. He does smile genuinely, much more so since Ritsuka arrived in his life, but it takes surprise, or something special, to get him to forget his 'perfect' mask and react with genuine emotion. Ironically, he smiles more the more he wants to cover his hurt up – it's more normal to see him with a calm/blank expression than a constant smile.

He is proud and stubborn – he was trained to be perfect, after all, and has a reputation for being very, very good at what he does. It’s rare for someone to beat him in a fight, and when they do, he doesn’t go down easily. He won’t let anything get in the way of obeying orders from his master, even if he disagrees with the orders – he was created to be a weapon and is nothing more than that (or so he believes (or wants to believe)).

He has a growing sense of doubt in his place in the world – he used to believe totally that he was made to be a weapon, but after Seimei abandoned him, and after seeing the care Ritsuka shows for him, he's seeing a kinder side of the world that he was told was nothing but thorns. He still acts as if he believes that he's nothing more than a weapon, but has guilty doubts about it. He lacks trust in himself, and feels somehow that being happy is bad – and feels guilty for feeling glad he's out of Seimei's reach. It's a point of conflict for him.

Part of the way he was trained means that he has a very real need to be owned by someone, to follow the orders they give faithfully, to be commanded. Not so important to him is his desire to be cared for by them – he sees it as a selfish want, and something he could get only if he was very lucky. When he asks Ritsuka to hold him, it's because he's at near breaking point after hearing Seimei's voice, and is half certain that things will be falling apart very soon.

He has very little sense of self-preservation – he will give his all if he is in a fight, and won't take unnecessary risks, but when put between the choice of getting hurt or losing (or having his master hurt), he will choose to be hurt. Injuries don’t bother him, though he takes care of them meticulously – likely something trained into him by Ritsu. He regularly wears bandages to cover the scars on his neck and collarbones, partially to hide them from others' questions, and partially because he recognises on an instinctual level that what Seimei's done to him is wrong. "It's fine" is a common statement of his. To him, his wounds are inconsequential unless they affect his ability to fight – and even then, he considers them to be a failing on his part.

Fears:
+ Being thrown away – Soubi was trained by one abusive man, who gave him away to another abuser, who then gave Soubi away again to his younger brother. He has grown to become fiercely protective of Ritsuka, but doubts that he feels the same level of care for him, and fears being abandoned again.
+ Seimei (his second abuser), and the control he has over him. Soubi has briar-shaped scars on his neck, and the name 'Beloved' carved just below his collarbones from where Seimei cut him. He still feels under Seimei's control and cannot help but obey him if Seimei pulls hard enough on the remains of their bond link.
+ Being unable to move/act when he needs to - being tied up/restrained in some way when there's something that NEEDS to be done.
+ Losing. He's never actually lost a fight before, when it counted. He's had losses that sometimes "didn't count" for whatever reason, so if he ever lost and it counted or had some severe consequences for other people...
+ Butterflies in a sort of more generic sense - he's not exactly afraid of them, but if they keep popping up, he'll be on-edge. This is because of his history with Ritsu; he alternates between relying on what Ritsu taught him for strength, and despising the man for throwing him away. Ritsu often compared him to a butterfly, able to change itself by throwing off an old shell.

Weaknesses:
+ Addicted to nicotine.
+ Mild myopia.
+ Has severe self-worth issues. He was brought up to be a weapon, treated as a possession and lots of his belief in his worth lies in being valuable to his master. Being abandoned by two of them has dented his belief that he is a 'good' weapon – because it must be his fault they've abandoned him.
+ Co-dependant (upon Ritsuka currently, but that may change depending upon circumstances. Ties into his self-worth and need for a master again).
+ Doesn't see it as worthwhile to want things for himself, or to do things for himself. Can end up being destructive; he denies himself something that he needs because he believes he doesn't deserve it.
+ His bond links to Seimei (once strong, but now broken) and Ritsuka (groundwork laid, no actual link yet). [Headcanon: Seimei's is like a rotted rope; the link is definitely broken, but the end is still there to be grabbed.] [Headcanon: Ritsuka's is like the groundwork has been laid, but not yet activated]


Mundane Strengths/Abilities:
+ A good cook.
+ Excellent painter – uses traditional Japanese media, paints better when stressed.
+ Extremely high pain tolerance.
+ Very quick with turns of phrase and wording – knows a lot of words and how to use them.
+ Has a very solid imagination, and good control over it.
+ If you somehow gain his loyalty, that's it; you now have one Soubi primed and ready for use for whatever you command.

Sensitivity/Magical Ability:
+ Can affect the world around him with words. Most physical effects are temporary, though the mental ones linger. Canon is vague (and, in places, stupidly inconsistent from one page to the next) on how this works, so I've teal-deer'd to try and make sense of it here: http://blankfighter.dreamwidth.org/312.html
+ Medium-level sensitive. Has the power to notice other bonded pairs/power users when nearby. Can notice the trace of a Fighter even when they've made sure to erase it. Unusually sensitive for a Fighter; usually only Sacrifices are trained to notice other Pairs. [Headcanon:] It works something like echolocation. In Maison, this should translate to being able to 'hear' other magic/power users within about the range of a football pitch's width, but not sense what the power does. Within about two rooms' distance, he should be able to more precisely track people.
+ [Headcanon:] The default state for his personal power presence is a low-level "someone with power here". Soubi can 'expand' it to have a very strong presence – it does this automatically when he uses spells – or can 'hide' his presence, though this takes concentration.

Supply List:
+ Near-full pack of cigarettes and lighter
+ Clothes
+ Bandages. (Long length around neck. Gauze pads and tape over palm. Butterfly strips and medical tape on earlobes.)
+ Glasses (round, wire-frames, corrects mild myopia)
+ Hair ribbon (red, cotton, about a foot long)
+ Mobile phone (flip-top, nothing fancy)
+ Key to the Aoyagi house
+ Wallet

Game Transfers: n/a

Sample RP post:

Scent was the first change he noticed; the smell of dust and furniture polish permeating the room, quite different from the smell of damp grass underfoot. Other details quickly followed; the feel of carpet under his shoes, dark wood echoing the austerity of the room around him, painted gentlemen looking down severely from the walls. A very western style of room. He looked behind him, quietly alarmed at how he had so suddenly come from one place to another. He hadn't felt another Pair near him as warning of an impending attack. There wasn't a trace of any in the neighbourhood after he'd run off that ... other fighter. Nisei.

His thoughts stilled uncomfortably as he remembered the look on the man's face as Seimei's voice – tinny from phone static, but still unmistakeably Seimei's – had sounded in the disused room. Gloating. Taking pleasure in his pain – and Soubi was sure he'd shown it on his face, so shocked he'd been to hear Seimei's voice. And yet when he'd grasped for their bond instinctively... nothing. Just the trailing end that had always been there after Seimei's supposed death. The death he'd hidden from Soubi, his most loyal--

Soubi closed his eyes and inhaled slowly to calm himself, banishing the thoughts from his mind. I will not falter. He looked around him with a renewed sense of purpose, examining the room for any clue, or a hint of deception. After a short exploration, between closing one drawer and opening the next, he expanded his battle aura suddenly, hoping to shock any hidden Fighters into faltering. He held back a wince as static rattled down his nerves; intense, and confusing. Keeping his aura expanded, Soubi confirmed the room remained unchanged, without a hint of deception – somehow, he'd been taken here between one breath and the next.

He drew his battle system back, the oppressive static easing somewhat. Was someone collecting Fighters for their own reasons to this house? It was odd there'd been no response to his battle aura... and if he had been kidnapped, why bother to put him here, with nobody there to greet him and gloat over his captivity?

...And if they were capturing Pairs, perhaps Ritsuka had also been brought to this place, to a different room. The thought made him quicken his steps to the door, a slight frown creasing his brow. He could not allow Ritsuka to be harmed.

Note: Soubi's interpreting the supernaturally talented people as Fighters/Sacrifices, since that's what he knows.