[Esper] Hamazura Shiage

FULL NAME: Hamazura Shiage
OTHER ALIAS: End of the Century Emperor, The Number One (Un)lucky Genius of Skill-Out.
CURRENT AGE: Fifteen Years Old
GENDER: Male
OCCUPATION: Ranking Lieutenant of Komaba Ritoku's faction of Skill-Out
SCHOOL: A Certain High School
FACTION: Skill-Out



APPEARANCE: The word "ordinary" could be used to describe Hamazura at first blush; he looks like an ordinary teenager with unremarkable features.

With unruly, dirty-blond hair that readily disobeys any comb which presumes to command it, Hamazura looks like he just woke up most of the time if one only looks at his hair. His hair is messy, but kept clean and seems to add a youthful element to his appearance. Those honey-colored eyes of his are as plain as the rest of him - but to those who know him or spend time around him, Hamazura's gaze is sharp and calculating behind his facade of apathy and ease. With features that could best be called hawkish, Hamazura's body language and ordinary physical traits help conceal the fact he is a practical predator who knows how to both fight and survive. Not overly tall, Hamazura is the type of plain-looking person who can easily blend into a crowd or look at home in any social setting with a bare minimum of work.

With a lean figure and the lithe, wiry muscles of a youth who works out quite a lot, Hamazura is no body builder. But he keeps his skills sharp and his body conditioned to move the way he wants it to. Often, he wears plain and functional cloths he doesn't mind getting dirty (or bloody, or burned, or torn). Jeans and sneakers do well for his lower ensemble, and he drifts towards t-shirts and sometimes jackets for his choice of tops. He doesn't wear gloves or lots of layers; in his line of work, practicality beats fashion any day. Simple and functional, cheap, replaceable cloths are his favorite.

HEIGHT: 168 cm
WEIGHT:  52.2 kg
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: He doesn't really accessorize, although as his latest middle finger to the powers that be, he does wear a subtle nose piercing. He wanted something that wouldn't get caught easily if a fight or set off metal detectors when sneaking into certain places.



PERSONALITY:
Apparent Delinquent
The guy is Academy City's most numerous and well-known gang. At least, he's in a very particular sect of said gang. He has no scruples about skipping school most of the time and he doesn't care about doing his homework or any assignments. Most of the mail he receives about academics-this or System Scan-that get thrown into the garbage or placed on a dartboard, respectively. He doesn't run around with a good crowd - and it shows. Hamazura is foul-mouthed, foul-minded, and suitably delinquent as any self-respecting member of Skill-Out would be. Forget ideals and principles - the guy is just plain no good in the behavior department. The type of boy fathers fear their little girl getting hung up on, much to his own delight. You're more likely to catch him tagging a building or shaking down an approved ESPER (his group has a few standards regarding that) for the contents of their wallet than studying at the local library.

Beneath the Surface  
Well, all of that is just the most basic of basics. Hamazura didn't make Lieutenant of his gang (third in command, in fact!) by just being a dropout child error. Any punk can get into a fistfight - but Hamazura uses his brain just as much as his other muscles. He is the type who would rather research an enemy and learn about a target before making a move. He doesn't like studying, as said before. But scoping out an area to decide the best way for a getaway vehicle to flee, marking a target's route home after school so they can be effectively "talked to" about picking on Level 0s, and even subconciously picking up on things like the location of security cameras or plainscloths personnel in an area are skills he's developed just as much as they are personality quirks. He doesn'tact rashly if he can help it - rather, "I'm not so talented that I can afford to act without thinking." is his usual sentiment.

Insecure AF
Well, that's how the kids would say it.

Hamazura is capable - but like many "geniuses", so-called, he doubts himself and is his own worst critic. He doesn't recognize his own improvement and expertise in a number of fields over the years. Maybe he's destined to grow out of that at some point - but for now, that's the skinny. He's always been a "powerless person" after all, and not just in regards to his Level 0 status. A Child Error, A Level 0, and effectively a high-school dropout before he's even graduated. He doesn't see the skills he does possess as those a successful person would even need to have. Half the reason he joined Skill-Out was because higher level espers made it a habit to tease and mock him for his lack of everything... family, ability, wealth. He often complains internally about his situation, but rarely lets his pessimism be known - at least not in front of higher-level people or figures of authority.

Healthy - For Want of a Better Word
Well, his libido is, among other things.

While it was previously mentioned he does keep his body conditioned, one cannot regard Hamazura Shiage without addressing his "appreciation" of the fairer sex. It cannot be done.

He's a fifteen-year-old boy with natural urges and inclinations. And a pretty crass way of expressing them. His first thoughts on encountering a sexy-looking Anti-Skill Officer were, in order, about how "I'd like to tie her up, just for a little bit." and making lewd gestures to his cellmates to show them what he'd like to do to her. He's got a dirty mind, although it by no means governs his day-to-day. Still, on that front, he is crude and talks a big game about what he'd do to a woman here or there. But in truth, well... This all would hardly be worth mentioning without a little bit of inside knowledge.

Simply put, Hamazura wouldn't hardly know what to do with a woman if he had her at his disposal. He talks a big game, but like most boys his age its a front for his natural inexperience and insecurity. Its all a front, in other words - a boy showing off and showing out for his rough-and-tumble fellow gang members who raucously cheer on such inappropriate statements. He's never had a girlfriend before, although he lies about that - and lies about it well. He's actually as clueless as he is inexperienced about how to actually treat a lady - he's never so much as been on a date, and he will make some girl in the future very happy - after a lot of awkward fumbling and attempts to impress her. He's a flirt and makes lewd suggestions, but if someone ever took him up on that in a way he didn't expect, well... The table would not merely turn, but flip onto its side.

Pragmatist
A lack of "pride" accompanies his own belief (and, previously, the belief of others) that he is "no good" or powerless.

Hamazura Shiage is anything but "powerless" these days, even if he doesn't think that's changed. Yet, it's this selfsame ideal of weakness and uselessness that has turned him into such a monstrously effective "Esper Hunter". If he can help it, he'd rather avoid all the showboating and monologuing that typically goes into a fight between Espers. At least, until victory is assured. Speaking of conflict, he'd rather avoid that altogether if possible - he has no qualms hiding from or running away from a superior opponent. He also lacks the compassion and mercy of other people in his position elsewhere in the city.

Hamazura is more than willing to seriously injure an enemy if it means victory. He'd rather not kill, but that's not out of the question either. A decisive, swift strike that the enemy never sees coming is his preferred method - the stronger an enemy is, the more swift or overwhelming an initial attack needs to be. A little bit of strategically placed explosives, a hidden two-shot derringer up a sleeve, a few traps or hacked electronics beforehand... These are the ruthless methods combined with tactics Hamazura uses to prevail over his enemies. To take on someone like The Railgun, for example, he wouldn't be bothered about taking hostages or - ideally - having some people with actual power take hostages while he works behind the scene to ensure victory or erase the chances of a total defeat.

LIKES:
Women in sexy outfits, Fast cars, The thrill of any operation, Feeling useful after a successful operation, Outsmarting enemies, Surviving to fight another day

DISLIKES:
Bad chances (of success), Unexpected developments, Vehicles breaking down mid-operation, Witnesses stumbling upon a crime, Snitches, Traitors

STRENGTHS:
Team Player - Towards his superiors, Komaba Ritoku and Hattori Hanzo (and towards his own subordinates), Hamazura is a loyal friend and comrade. He has their trust and they have his. Skill-Out is the family he never had. He would never inform on them even in fear of his own life. He also expects the same from Skill-Out members, although all of these only apply to his own faction within Skill-Out. Similarly, if someone ever takes the time to become a friend or gods forbid love interest, it is safe to say he would offer that same unerring loyalty so long as they were loyal to him.

Gift of Gab - While not as eloquent as a certain member of Judgement, he speaks "honestly", in a way most people seem to appreciate as "real" and personable. Friendly, casual, and affable even towards potential enemies - especially when he recognizes an antagonistic force as merely professional. He has no problem making conversation with enemies or adversaries - and worse, seems to possess a gift to make them want to talk to him. This is often a ruse to stall for time until backup arrives or he is able to carry out a plan. Yet, that much is not easy to discern seeing as he sincerely is this way most of the time. Just an ordinary, easy-to-talk-to guy - that's how his friends might summarize him.

Holy Batplan, Batman - Hamazura also has a talent for planning and preparation. He is good at adapting on the fly, but even a few minutes of prep time to consider a target or a situation in general can tip the scales in his favor. He's made some of his best plans while in the back of an Anti-Skill van, and managed to escape as a result. Under fire from a rival gang may be a stressful time for some, but the cover of a dumpster is enough to let him think of an escape plan or marshal his resources however limited those may be. Shame this planning and effort into researching targets and marks and escape plans can't help in school.

WEAKNESSES:
Powerless - It may not seem like a big deal to be powerless in a city of superhuman psychics, but its a pain in the ass - and not just for one's esteem. It makes things difficult when 80% of the entire city are students in that darned Power Curriculum. It's easy to pick a fight with the wrong guy or get in over your head. And all the tricks and skills Hamazura has picked up aside, he is just a normal human teenage boy. He doesn't have an ability, he doesn't even know about magic, and he isn't artificially enhanced in some way. He is just Hamazura, and one day he fears that won't be enough.

Libido - Well folks, here we are again. But a simpler explanation this time. If you really want to catch him off-guard, be a female and show some leg. Seriously! It works. He could easily be distracted by some fan-service of even the modest sort. And things like bunny ears and maid outfits can induce a nosebleed and lack of focus that seem humorous but still can be exploited. On top of that, he just can't say no to a pretty face. A pair of puppy-dog eyes could probably see him taken advantage of unless the person in question was someone rude or "unfeminine" in some way, like an electric tomboy of sorts.

Strong Women - Pretty women aren't his only weakness. He has a hard time saying no to women who just so happen to be able to kick his ass, too. In the not too distant future, this will become apparent. Although in Skill-Out, it doesn't have much application. Even so, he has little fight against women who have firmly established themselves as able to trounce him. He does think of himself as a powerless failure after all, so a little abuse could easily keep this whipped dog in his place.

Honor Among Thieves - Hamazura isn't as paranoid or as suspicious as one of his career should be. If he identifies a kindred spirit, it wouldn't be strange for him to sort of sympathize with them. He trusts people with troubled pasts like his own and isn't above trusting someone easily if they are another Skill-Out member. Of course, if another member of Skill-Out were to lie to him or, god forbid, inform on him - all of that hidden potential and planning would go into extracting a suitable revenge. He expects nothing from the general populous, but darn it criminals should have standards when dealing with each other! Apparently.


HISTORY:  Not much is known about the Esper Hamazura Shiage - even to the officials of Academy City, and their precious Bank.

But I'll tell you his story, all the same.

It starts the same as many do: a pair of parents who decide that moving to Academy City might give their child a good life. Although they probably didn't plan on becoming casualties as a result of some high-level Esper having a temper tantrum. While Hamazura doesn't know the details of their death (for which he's thankful) he does know they died in the aftermath of some powerful Esper being careless with his ability. His parents weren't targets or anything like that, they weren't important enough to be. They were random, unfortunate casualties and not part of some plot or covered up experiment. When the Railgun is used in a crowded street and the skyscraper windows shatter - could one nearby said windows not be harmed quite easily? If a car is sent flying into a building by the One-Way Road, who is to say that building was not inhabited. It was a simple accident that his parents - among others - were killed as a result of this powerful ability user and whatever situation led to them using their powers so "recklessly". His parents were Anti-Skill and a Banker - not scientists, not powerful Espers, and certainly not criminals like their son would become. But that's their story - and where the story of Hamazura Shiage worth telling starts.

Child Error. Even the term itself can rankle the noses of those higher up - but it should really offend the kids called such a thing. Errors. Something erroneous and detrimental to the stability of a system. Unaccounted for and not part of the sum total that should be called Academy City. Hamazura Shiage became a Child Error fairly early on in life - he slipped through the cracks by age eight, and received the bare minimum of assistance from the mercy and generosity of the failed social safety net of this utopian city. He made it - but even by eight years old he was doing bad things. Whether its Fagin from Oliver Twist or Lord Varys from Game of Thrones - many recognize children are uniquely qualified for a number of reasons to commit crimes. And Hamazure Shiage was able to fit into tight places, pluck wallets from trousers, or empty a lady's purse with relative easy by age ten. And when he was caught, well, it wasn't as though a ten year old could be punished even in this city - and he rode the revolving door of Academy City's juvenile justice system or lack thereof.

By the time Hamazura was twelve, he joined Skill-Out officially. But this was a more bare bones, base faction than the one he works for now. Still, he was able to start learning the ways of the world for a Level 0 in Academy City. At school, he was bullied and tormented for being so weak and powerless. He had never been able to really make friends - instead, he could only deal with his bullies by talking them into fighting one another. Through carefully laid evidence and muttered statements, Hamazura got rather good at setting his enemies against each other. But that didn't always work. Ultimately, he was bullied and even beat up on multiple occasions simply for not having the power to stop either of those things from happening. Kids can be cruel, and kids with powers are obviously so much worse even with adult supervision. Hamazura learned to fight and to commit more serious crimes than picking pockets - and he became a resourceful young man raised on the streets of Academy City, homeless but far from alone.

Now, more recently, he has been accepted into Komaba Ritoku's Skill-Out faction. There, he quickly rose in the ranks in less than a year to be a third-in-command. He finds the sheer character and integrity of his leaders to be worth following - and it is in this faction of Skill-Out he has learned to value his time with his new family. They aren't just another gang to run around with - they are his life, and he cares for the members beneath him and the two above him as much as he would for fellow soldiers or even family members of a sort. Hamazura Shiage is still convinced he's a failure with no power; and that remains the case even as a lock-picking, gun-slinging, fast-driving gang member with a penchant for planning and persuasion.



RANK: Lieutenant (Third in Command)
LEVEL: 0
(ABILITY NAME): Not Applicable
OTHER ABILITIES: To recap: Firearms, explosives, street weapons, and even advanced computer and lock-interface technology is in his possession. Anything else he obtains will have to be given to him by someone else.

Marksmanship - Hamazura has a very high ability to wield firearms with proficiency. From pistols to rifles and everything in between, he can make crack shots with relative ease. Even from a moving motorcycles or while peeking out a vehicle or dark alley, he has no problem hitting a mark. Between the eyes are no problem. More impressively, shooting an enemy without lethal force is easy for him too - a shot in the arm or wrist, or deliberately missing a vital organ are all things he can do.

Close-Quarters Combat (armed and unarmed) - Hamazura is in Skill-Out, after all. And they train to be able to physically fight Espers with superhuman abilities. This includes a basic street-fighting skill that is equipped for unarmed combat or the use of knives, chains, pipes, and even firearms and tasers as melee weapons. In his case, there are some in the city who could beat him down with pure skill - but thankfully, most Espers rely on their abilities. Still, he's not quite a match for those martially or militarily trained.

Traps and tricks and tactics, oh my! - Honestly, Hamazura's greatest strength lies here. All the weapons and street-fighting in the world won't help you against some ability users. Therefore, he is a fan of outsmarting his enemies via both elaborate, well-thought out plans and improvised ones that emphasize his surroundings and environment. Shiage isn't afraid to go for a feint, or do something like throw a Molotov cocktail just for a distraction or to set off a fire alarm. While some would seek to beat a pyrokinetic by just knocking them senseless, Hamazura would rather they burn up all their own oxygen or make a weapon out of compressed aerosols that catch flame easily - limiting the ability usage of his enemy. He is a "Batman" like character - in a second encounter or with some basic research and prep, his chances of winning go up.

Fast-talker - Hamazura is charismatic, plain and simple. Even a single-minded enemy isn't hard to keep talking if you know how to play them. He's been arrested before and used the confinement to find out what Judgement or Anti-Skill know by playing dumb or pretending he knows more than he does. Often times, the goal is to keep an enemy talking until he can think of a plan to deal with them.

Driving/Piloting - Hamazura has a love and a gift for fast cars and motorcycles. Often as not stolen, he can handle an automatic or the old, seldom-seen in Academy City standards. He has an almost intuitive gift for learning how to drive something on short notice. A helicopter or a suit of power armor aren't exceptions to this. Still, such foreign and high-concept vehicles would still take some time to learn let alone master.

Ghost in the Shell - With a gift for using advanced technology, Hamazura also has discovered an affinity for hacking machines. Generally, this is used to disable security or open locks - diving deep through archives for a file or something isn't really his area of expertise. But if its cracking open a high-security vault at a research lab or taking down a surveillance network - that's a piece of cake, given time and someone else to do the actual field work. He has specialized equipment both to open locks and brute force passwords. This should be obvious: but he naturally has learned to pick regular locks with efficiency as well!


CHARACTER THEME: N/A



PLAYER'S NAME: C.C.
DISCORD NAME: Corona Cat
RATING: M for mature
FACE CLAIM: Hamazura Shiage, Toaru Majutsu no Index
OTHER CHARACTERS: De Nada
MISC. INFORMATION: I did have to make up a fair portion of this profile, but it should all fall within acceptable parameters.

My my my. My evaluation ability is really being challenged lately. I like ☆


The History – Super minor corrections

Overall, a very well written history for our Hamazura. Minus one minor detail. It’s doubtful any of the Child Errors in Academy City were even adopted by anyone, given that the city itself is a giant boarding school where the overall presence of parents is quite scarce. As such, I would suggest removing that part from the history.


The Abilities – In the end he's just Hamazura

His hand to hand combat prowess as you describe it in the profile strikes me as above what I would expect. The reason for this is his fight against Touma, in which they were both pretty much on equal terms. Given that Touma himself isn’t actually a super proficient fist fighter or exceptionally trained but an ordinary high school boy who has some experience in street fights and Hamazura was even armed with a baton, I would like to call into question the claim that he is on the professional athlete level like what is associated with Skill-Out. Surely, both of them would be easy fodder to some Judgement members and the vast majority of Anti-Skill, who still are still undergoing military level training. As a result I would ask you to reduce his proficiency in that area to fall slightly below Kamijou Touma’s. It’s not like hand to hand combat was ever Hamazura’s forte in the series, after all.

Lastly, while you described Hamazura’s ability to pick locks, I would raise the point that it isn’t solely limited to hacking. Any type of lock should be easy prey to that boy.

Shokuhou Misaki wrote:My my my. My evaluation ability is really being challenged lately. I like ☆


The History – Super minor corrections

Overall, a very well written history for our Hamazura. Minus one minor detail. It’s doubtful any of the Child Errors in Academy City were even adopted by anyone, given that the city itself is a giant boarding school where the overall presence of parents is quite scarce. As such, I would suggest removing that part from the history.

Will remove. Tried to explain it so he isn't without family, but I guess he technically is after thinking about it. Life is rough on the bottom.

Shokuhou Misaki wrote:The Abilities – In the end he's just Hamazura

His hand to hand combat prowess as you describe it in the profile strikes me as above what I would expect. The reason for this is his fight against Touma, in which they were both pretty much on equal terms. Given that Touma himself isn’t actually a super proficient fist fighter or exceptionally trained but an ordinary high school boy who has some experience in street fights and Hamazura was even armed with a baton, I would like to call into question the claim that he is on the professional athlete level like what is associated with Skill-Out.

Well, I was getting ready to argue this by pulling up my source, but it looks like they were mistaken. I read the passage myself and the novel was only saying as much of Komaba - not Skill-Out in general, or of Hamazura. I have changed this. Although, in the series or not, I do plan for him to explore things he wasn't known for in the series, but that's a private message to staff - not part of his character now! I have of course toned down this specialty.

I also corrected the lock specialty and made it more diverse.

In short, changes have been made and this is awaiting review.

Pam pam pam ☆

Admittedly, I don’t like to make promises anymore, but I made you wait long enough.


One could argue that not only some in Academy City’s streets could overpower him in a fist-fight, but that’s just nitpicking. Now enjoy the thrill ride of being the luckiest guy in the series ☆