Eiji de Wulan Bai Shizu

Basic
Information
Name: Eiji de Wulan Bai Shizu (Eiji of
the White Moon Clan)
--Nickname: Ronin
---Special
Title: Shunshin (God of Flash), Shinigami Yokaze (Reaper of the
Nightwind)
Gender: Male
Visual Age: 16
Actual
Age: 18
Personality:
On the surface Ronin comes across
as cocky and unfocused, usually spending his time cracking jokes or
making sarcastic remarks as he makes his way through any given
situation. On the inside however he is a deeply caring and complex
individual, albeit somewhat insecure. He cares very much for those
who he considers friends and loved ones, holding them in the deepest
regard and and will go to great lengths to help them out whenever
possible, including listening to their problems. This same trait does
not hold true in reverse however, as he is usually unable to share
any of his problems with others. Preferring instead to keep his own
issues internalized and work through them on his own. This tendency
tends to worry those who know him well, as they're afraid that one
day his bottled up issues might come to the surface and become his
undoing in some fashion. In these troubled times however, such a
compassionate personality doesn't really fit in and can often be
exploited by those with less then noble ideals. Thus he has taken to
hiding his true nature from those outside of his small circle of
friends and trying to do what he can behind the scenes as he hides
behind his cockier half. In addition, he also tends to avoid letting
others get too close to him personally, feeling that this is for
their own protection because of his past and the people who may be
coming after him because of it. He is constantly haunted by the
misdeeds of his past, and at times believes he does not deserve
happiness.

He tends to try and be the comedian of any group he
is in, using his outer joker/wild-card persona in an attempt to keep
troubling situations from getting overly gloomy with sarcasm and
variable qualities of jokes. This is especially true in situations
where he feels nervous or threatened, as humor is his default coping
mechanism under stressful conditions. He is not afraid to speak his
mind if he feels that what he has to say needs to be heard,
regardless of who he may be talking to. This has had the unfortunate
side effect of putting him at odds with a couple of his less then
open-minded peers on more then a handful of occasions. He also
possesses a bit of a competitive streak, using others as a
comparative benchmark for which to gauge his skills and then setting
his goals to surpass them. While this trait allowed him to quickly
rise through the ranks and emerge near the top of his rankings in his
chosen profession, it can also be exploited as a weakness and has
been known on occasion to cause him to push himself past his limits
and into some really dangerous situations. He also possesses a very
strong distaste for the odds, a trait which has gotten him into
trouble on more then one occasion due to his reckless and
daredevil-esque nature. On the flip side of that however, he also
displays the stereotype teenage dislike for elitist personalities and
authority figures, finding that most are drunk with power and will
abuse it at any given opportunity. Tied into this dislike, he also
finds himself somewhat easily annoyed by people who insist on
constantly correcting him for no apparent reason.

Compounding
these issues is the fact that Ronin also posses a strong independent
streak and an iron will, despite efforts to break him of it during
his training. This was partly due to his need to break with the
traditional methods for his studies periodically in order to maintain
his sense of self, and achieve the high academic standards his mentor
wished him to pursue, and further stimulated by efforts on the part
of one of the nicer members of Miyamoto's band in order to help him
adapt to the turbulent conditions in which he was raised. As a result
of both of these factors he has developed a devilishly keen mind,
capable of dissecting and troubleshooting most strategic and tactical
problems with astonishing speed, and able to retain copious amounts
of data with superb recall ability. His genius and upbringing have
not been without their drawbacks however, as it has been known to
lead to some degree of social and emotional awkwardness between him
and those who would seek to be his peers. Years spent wandering the
wilderness training instead of leading a normal life have caused him
to miss out on a fair chunk of his developing years, resulting in
what some would consider his childish demeanor and yielding only a
limited skill set when dealing with matters of the opposite sex or
with awkward situations in general.

One of his more unusual
characteristics is the way in which he expresses anger. In keeping
with his internalizing nature, he has a habit of turning his anger
and frustration inward, becoming quieter and more level sounding as
the feelings increase. This has led to several interesting
situations, especially during the troubled period of his school
years, in which the person who was causing him frustration (usually a
bully of some sort) failed to realize that they were doing so and
continued to egg him on thinking that he was backing down due to his
seemingly docile temperament. As a result they were greatly surprised
when he would finally lash out and defend himself or whoever it was
that he had stepped in to help. This trait does have its darker side
however, as all that internalizing can lead to an impressive build-up
of frustration. And as with most build-ups, it must be vented somehow
or else it will cause damage to the vessel containing it. This means
that when Ronin does finally snap and lash out at an aggressor, he
does it in a particularly swift and brutal fashion. It is this
ability which first attracted Miyamoto's attention, as the physical
prowess he demonstrated during one of these episodes impressed him
enough to take the young boy under his wing and begin training
him.

Having been raised as a living weapon and born in a world
devastated by varying degrees of violence, he is no stranger to
conflict. The social problems he experienced during his primary
development and time with Miyamoto's mercenary band have cultivated
within Ronin the strong dislike for bullies and other people who
abuse their power which was mentioned previously. This is especially
true when it comes to authority figures, and has caused him to
develop the habit of sticking up for the little guy and trying to
protect those around him from abuse. It was this trait that
eventually led him to actually accept the training he'd been given
and become a wandering swordsmen, hoping to find himself on the front
lines and become the sword that defended his loved ones and those in
need should he find himself placed between them and the corrupt
powers which currently govern the world in which he lives. Despite
having a general dislike of violence, especially the act of killing,
he is more then willing to go that route to solve a problem if he
believes that its justified, and to that end has made sure that he is
more then diligent in his training. This has gotten him into trouble
several times in the past, but has not deterred him from his wish to
do what he can to improve the current state of things. A trait which
has been attributed to his late mentor and one that his sister
sometimes wishes that he hadn't inherited quite so strongly.

Oddly enough though, given
his distaste for violence, he holds to the belief that to know one
fully, you must fight them. His years of study in the fields of
martial arts and the various philosophies behind them have allowed
him to look past their inherent brutality and see what lies beneath.
To him fighting is not only for self-defense, but can also be a form
of self-expression, a means of communication similar to art. This is
obviously not to say that he is some sort of warmonger or brute given
his views of conflict, quite the opposite in fact, as he is one of
the most gentle people you could possibly hope to meet. Its just that
he has come to realize that engaging a person in combat is the only
means to truly know someone, a pure form of expression where words
are swept away, allowing for action to reveal the true nature of the
people involved. He also is able to use this as a way to help him
read the feelings and emotions of others, using combat as a way of
bringing out their true self and learn whether it is possible to save
them from themselves or not. In his mind, combat between two skilled
opponents is capable of saying more than several hours worth of
talking. A truly useful ability indeed for one who has to make life
and death decisions on the fly. He has come to see that there is a
certain purity in the way combat techniques are used in battle,
almost as if it were more like a dance instead of a fight to what
could possibly be his death.


The only time his personality seems
to experience a dramatic shift is on the battlefield. During a fight
his joker attitude is somewhat suppressed, revealing another persona
who comes across as the quiet, calculating, and dutiful soldier,
capable of quickly reading the situation and handling it with deadly
efficiency. This isn't to say that he discards he usual attitude
entirely,  as he is well known for using his sense of humor to throw
his opponents off balance, just that there is a noticeable change in
the aura about him which one would not expect given his normal
attitude. Years of service to the way of the sword have allowed him
to craft his professional persona while under fire, seeming to come
across almost like what some would call unfazable, regardless of what
may be going on beneath the surface. This ability and the beliefs
that go along with it come not only from his own family traditions,
but also from the strength he draws from the various warrior codes he
was forced to study growing up. He was especially enamored with
something known as the samurai code of bushido in particular, as it
was one of the few systems to not only promote honor in battle but
also the aesthetics of civilian life. Taking that concept to heart,
he has tried to make himself as well rounded a person as humanly
possible by taking on various hobbies to stimulate the different
aspects of his psyche. These past-times include the continued study
of the martial arts (to stimulate the body), woodcrafts (for manual
dexterity), playing the ocarina (to soothe the soul), and playing
various games of chance and strategy (to expand the mind). In
addition to these diversions, he is also an avid reader and has even
been known to write a little from the privacy of his own home. The
latter is unconfirmed however, as no one has ever read any of the
works he may have produced in his spare time. Additionally it has
affected his manner of speech, as he is prone to playing down his
abilities at times and referring to those he respects with honorific
terms. A lot of the time, he refers to himself with the extremely
humble phrase “Sessha” or "this one" and addresses most
women with the honorific “dono”, which is a term generally
reserved for lords and other high-class individuals. This too however
stops when he begins to slip into the heat of battle, his speech
pattern changing from being polite to something much more informal
and sometimes harsh.

As one would expect for one trained in
the ways of the warrior and living in a world slowly being torn apart
by war, loyalty and honor are both very important to Ronin, and as
such the former is not given out by him lightly. The exception to
this rule are the people who have been placed within his care, either
by fate or by choice, as he will do anything within his power to
protect them and ensure that they come home safely, despite whatever
his sometimes cool exterior might suggest. He also enjoys when he is
able to help cultivate someone else's future, offering subtle support
from behind the scenes in order to help them gain the necessary
experience to attain whatever standing he feels they deserve.
However, these values, in addition to his years of service are what
have led him to become somewhat disillusioned with the current path
the world seems to be taking in the wake of various rulers, and the
powers that preceded them's past conduct. This is why he has taken it
upon himself to do his best in educating the various people he comes
across through both his actions and word, making a valiant effort to
make sure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated yet again as
the people of this broken world move towards a new
beginning.

Appearance
Appearance:
Ronin’s appearance is fairly
unremarkable for the most part, standing slightly under average
height and being of average weight for one who enjoys his level of
physical fitness. His physical build is fairly thin, commonly causing
others to underestimate his strength and occasionally causing him to
be mistaken for a girl when taken into account alongside his fair
complexion and chosen manner of taming his flaming red hair with a
ponytail. In order to further cultivate this deception, he tends to
wear loose fitting clothes in order to hide his body type from those
around him, blending the new and old styles of dress into a sort of
fantasy noir form that seems to suit him rather well. This style
choice usually takes the form of a sleeveless Uwagi or short
Changshan, worn over a simple long sleeved shirt of variable weight
depending on weather, and tucked into a pair of well worn and
comfortably fitting leather pants. This is usually accessorized with
a simple set of dastana style bracers with unadorned steel plates on
the back of the hand, a long scarf or cloak depending on mood and
environment, and a pair of medium weight hardened leather boots with
an excessive number of clasps. No matter what choice of outer wear he
chooses to go with however, his outfits are always long sleeved and
full legged to hide the skin of his extremities. This is because from
about the shoulder down his body is covered in dozens of lightly
colored scars from his time spent learning under Miyamoto.




Character
Information
Bender: No
--Element:
n/a
Affinity: Air
Class:
Middle-class
Career: Wandering
Swordsmen/Mercenary
Birth: Late Fall
Loyalty: Has
no loyalty to a specific city, only to the people he finds need his
aid
Place of Birth: Eastern Earth Kingdom
Residence:
Republic City

Statistics
Strength: Below
Average
Speed: Excellent
Stamina: Average
Chi: Below
Average
Intelligence: Average

Weapon Type: Katana
Weapon
Appearance:


Weapon
Abilities: n/a

Character
Background
History:
Born under the name
Kyoshiro, on the Eastern frontier of the Earth Kingdom, Ronin was
raised by a poor family of peasant farmers. Despite their
impoverished lifestyle his parents loved their son dearly and did
everything they could to provide for him in every way possible.
Raised on tales of the great and noble warriors and heroes, the young
boy dreamed of one day distinguishing himself in battle and earning
enough prestige to take his family to the city and save them from the
pains of life as a lowly laborer. Fate has a peculiar sense of humor
however, for during the winter of his seventh year a group of bandits
came to his village and demanded tribute in exchange for their
protection. Being a man of great courage and even greater ideals, and
outraged by the bandit's demands, Ronin's father convinced his fellow
villagers to stand up against their would be oppressors and led them
in a revolt against the bandits. Despite having caught the bandits
off-guard however, the farmers simply lacked the training and
expertise necessary to best them in battle, and as a result they were
almost completely massacred by their blood thirsty
opponents.

Realizing what was happening and despite being
severely wounded, Ronin's mother fled the village with her son as the
bandits began to burn it to the ground. They ran through the night
and into the morning before they reached the point where his mother
could no longer continue and was forced to surrender to her wounds.
As she lay in the snow dying she implored her son to leave her behind
and continue running before they were captured and made an example
of. Now alone, unable to avenge his home or even provide his fallen
family with a proper burial, the young boy fled deeper into the woods
in the hopes of evading his pursuers and finding somewhere safe to
hide until he could figure out what to do next. He was on the run for
almost a week before he came upon his would be savior and the man who
would prove to be one of the most influential figures in his life:
the mercenary Senju Miyamoto.

After listening to the child's
story, Miyamoto took pity on the boy and offered to take him under
his wing on the one prevision that the child did not hinder his
journey in any way. Dazzled by the blade the man carried, believing
him to be a famous warrior, and given his limited options at the
time, Ronin agreed to the man's terms and began to follow him as his
unofficial apprentice in the martial and mercenary arts. The training
he received was brutal, bordering on lethal at times, as Miyamoto did
not believe in pulling his punches. His method of instruction was to
use a technique on his student with its full killing intent. This
style of teaching forced his pupils to learn to read his body
language in order to survive. The idea being if they were able to
decipher his movements then they would have the exact same amount of
time as they would in a real fight to devise a counter. Unusually
enough however, this brutal form of education actually seemed to work
for his newest pupil. Not only was the boy able to quickly pick up on
what was going on, but he eventually got to the point where he was
seemingly almost able to predict his opponent’s moves before they
decided on them themselves. He had not only survived the training,
which was an accomplishment in and of itself given the high turnover
rate he’d had with previous students, but he had gotten to the
point where he’d actually matched if not surpassed his instructor.
The two of them wandered the world for almost two years while this
was going on, his master always doing the dirty work for lords whose
assignments were considered too dangerous, and questing for ever
stronger adversaries on which to test his skills. Eventually the two
of them fell in with one of the provisional governors of the Fire
Nation territories and his most recent campaign to invade the
territory of his neighbors. The bloody conflict between the two
rulers and their armies eventually came to a head at the Battle of
Demon Snake Pass, and it was on this day that the boy known as Kyo as
well as so many others met their end at the hands of those they had
once considered friends.

Following the battle, he awoke only
to find himself surrounded by hundreds of the dead. In shock from the
experience, he slipped into a sort of dissociative state and started
walking with little consideration as to his destination. Days later
he returned to his senses, only to find himself in the middle of a
dusty street, which ran through an unfamiliar village with no memory
as to who he was, how he had gotten there, or where he’d come from
previously. Picking himself up from the dirt, he began to wander
through the town in the hopes of finding something familiar or
someone who recognized him. As he walked he saw all sorts of people
around him engaged in all forms of activity, including what appeared
to be some form of mugging in progress. He didn't know why, but for
some reason witnessing this hit a cord deep within his heart and his
was moved to act in the victims defense. Grabbing a nearby bamboo
pole, he ran to the man's aid and using skills he was not even aware
he had was able to fight off the thieves before they were able to do
any more harm. It seemed that while his mind had forgotten everything
he once knew due to post traumatic stress, his body still retained
the muscle memory from the training he had undergone prior to his
break with reality. Realizing that day that he could use his newly
found talents for the betterment of those around him, he became the
unofficial protector of the slums in which he found himself and took
on a new name: Eiji, which he was told meant protector and was meant
to represent how the villagers felt about his presence.

The
years passed and as his prowess grew through daily training and
numerous street brawls, so did his reputation. Eventually word of his
accomplishments reached the higher levels of the city and sparked the
interest of some of the people residing there, specifically one of
the successors to the legacy of Piandao and the Order of the White
Lotus: Sanjuro Fei. Intrigued by the stories she'd heard, she decided
to head out into the slum district herself to see if what she had
heard was true. What she found, while not what she was expecting, did
not exactly disappoint either. She found the object of her search
just as he was in the middle of one of his famous interventions. As
she watched him fight she could see the raw potential that was buried
beneath the surface, his techniques were crude and unrefined, sure
signs of having been mostly self-taught, but once one was able to see
past that you were able to see the seeds of true talent which were
hidden underneath. Following the fight she approached the young man
in the hopes of recruiting his talents. The two of them got to know
each other fairly well over the next few days, and eventually the
elder warrior was able to convince him to join the ranks of the White
Lotus candidates under her care. Saying that with what she and the
others could teach him he would be even better equipped to protect
those who were unable to protect themselves.

The training was
hard, but in spite of that he was able to excel in most of the
courses that were set upon him, and thanks to his previous
experiences, even able to skip ahead in certain areas. On several
occasions though it seemed too much for him and he was tempted to
give up and return to his old life amongst the civilian populace, but
his new friends among the cadets would have nothing of it,
specifically a girl by the name of Daiyu Yumi who was his closest
friend and confidant. Yumi's strengths lay in the sciences and the
use of strategies, while his were more focused into the martial arts
and specifically the use of the sword and the acrobatic evasion
techniques that would one day become his trademark. She was always
experimenting with new techniques and building strange little
gadgets, but despite this the two of them shared a like temperament
and sense of humor, soon becoming close friends as they shared the
experience of training together.



Upon graduating from the academy at
the age of fourteen, Ronin was assigned to Team 4 of the Seventh
Battalion under the supervision of one of his sponsor: Fei’s,
closest friends. He quickly rose through the rankings as his skills
improved, soon attaining the honored position of vice-commander for
his team and finding himself transferred over to the Second Battalion
at the request of his new commander due to his advanced proficiency
with the blade. While with the Second he began developing his own
style of fighting which specialized in the use of highly acrobatic
precision strikes and and fluid blade techniques, allowing him to
seeming come at his opponent from all angles through a combination of
speed and deception. This fighting style is what would one day earn
him the title of Shunshin and later on Shinigami Yokaze, because of
how he seemed to effortlessly sweep over lesser enemies like a chill
night wind. Life was going well for Ronin, he'd earned the respect of
his peers, brought his fighting skills up to a whole new level which
allowed him to protect even more people then he ever could have
hoped. He'd even been added to the list of potential officer
candidates, and then it all came apart.

A group of pirates,
believing that the village where the White Lotus barracks resided
might contain secrets to various valuable bending arts, unleashed a
surprise attack which caught the Lotus guards completely unprepared,
resulting in complete and utter chaos as their forces desperately
scrambled to defend their home. Dispatched to the outer wards to
defend the fixed defenses and to protect the civilians there, Ronin
rushed to the aid of those he had once sworn to protect. Their
deployment had not been quick enough however, as the entire area was
already swarming with dozens of pirates and their bender allies, as
well as a force of trained animals who were lost in a feeding frenzy.
He and his unit fought desperately to defend the area, fighting on
long after the order to retreat had been given, but in the end their
efforts were not enough and countless lives were lost to the enemies'
insatiable hunger and lust for combat. In the end the survivors were
driven back to the central enclave of the academy, forced to take
shelter within the central fortification as they fought a last ditch
effort to drive out the invaders. Unable to handle the pressure, and
fearful of the outcome should the village fall, the head of the
Lotus forces cracked under the pressure and committed seppuku at his
desk before any of his generals could stop him. This sudden and
shocking admission of defeat tore the Lotus forces apart at the very
core, creating a massive power vacuum during a time when such things
could only serve to compound the danger of the situation. Caught in
the middle of the chaos as the village leaders turned on their allies
and their subordinates, Ronin found himself cutting down men and
women he had considered friends and family for a little less then
five years, fighting for his life as all that he had worked so hard
to protect imploded from within. He was now being forced to wage a
war on two fronts, becoming even more withdrawn, and left with no
other choice but to detach himself from his emotions and become a
living weapon in order to survive as a result. Allying with Fei and
the rest of her unit as her father tried to gain control of the
situation, he began the unenviable task of killing his own brethren
with the vain hope of ending the strife around him. Realizing that if
things were to continue on as they currently were, there was going to
be no end to the fighting and no hope of restoring the balance to the
devastated ranks. Eventually however Fei’s father was able to pull
together a loose coalition of officers, and the allied forces were
able to push back the raiders to the lands from whence they’d come
and begin the process of rebuilding. It was at this time that Fei’s
father took on the mantel of leadership for the region, despite his
ill health. All records of his predecessor were destroyed in keeping
with this ideal, the previous commander’s moment of weakness during
their time of crisis forever dishonoring him in the eyes of his
people and resulting in his conscious repression in their memory.
Ronin would have nothing to do with the rebuilding process or the
events that followed it however, as he was destined to take on his current nickname and leave the Order for awhile in search of redemption for the
perceived sins he’d committed during the village’s very brief
time of civil war.


This was decision was made in spite
of the fact that he was to be given a field promotion to officer status along with a large portion of his class in order to help
bolster the ranks which had been so heavily diminished. The battle
had shaken something loose inside of his head. Bringing forth
memories that he’d been repressing since before his time in the
slums, and causing him to rethink his chosen course and who he was as
a person. Needing to sort things out for himself, he put in an
application for leave, despite the Order’s need for experienced
defenders at the moment, and took to the wanderer's path on a form of
walkabout. Hoping to find a way to come to terms with all of the
blood that was now on his hands and atone for the deaths he had
caused. Giving meaning to the lives of all those who had died at his
hand, while at the same time trying to reclaim the humanity he felt
that he had lost. Even on the road he continued his training, seeking
new levels of power and skill as he worked to try and make the lives
of anyone he came across just a little bit better.

It was
during this time, a little less then a year after he had left the
Order, that he came in contact with a warrior monk, going by the clan
name of Bai Wulan. Bai Wulan was a former member of the Earth
Kingdom's special forces unit which had succeeded the Dai Li who had
given up his previous position and gone into hiding in order to take
up the ways of a monk in the land of Fire. Like Ronin, he had found
himself unsure of his actions and because of it had opted to become a
man of peace so that he might mend the wounds he had caused during
his youth. It was because of this that he easily identified with
Ronin’s predicament, and offered to help him find the path to the
answers he sought through training and meditation. Open to new ideas
at this point since he had been coming up empty on his own, he
accepted the monk’s offer and began learning various meditation
techniques in addition to adding to his martial repertoire through
the study of several new martial arts such as a style known as,
baguazhang or circle walking, which had been developed from watching
the teachings of the Airbenders, and the mental discipline of yiquan.
His lessons were made easier by the buried teachings and memories
lurking at his core, allowing him to subconsciously draw upon the
knowledge he’d acquired in his past and thus advance quickly
through his training. As a result of this, after more then twelve
months of training and progressing through a regimen that would have
been harsh for even the toughest individual, he was able to confront
and at least partially subdue his inner demons, and emerge with near
mastery level in all of the martial and mental forms which he had
pursued.

Following the completion of his training, Bai Wulan
was visited by a group of rogue swordsmen led by Ronin’s former
sensei: Miyamoto. He had apparently somehow survived the battle which
had broken his protege, leaving the boy for dead due to his apparent
failure to dominate his enemies. Surprised that his former student
had survived, Miyamoto offered Ronin a chance to rejoin his
organization and relive their time together. All he was required to
do was kill his current master so that no records or witnesses of
Miyamoto’s return and his student’s recent training existed. It
was very clear that Bai Wulan was going to die either way, it was
just a question of whether Ronin or his former teacher was going to
be the one to do it, and whether or not the former student and the
others residing at the temple joined the old man. These orders hurt
Ronin at his very core, for over the course of the year he’d spent
in the man’s company he had come to love his teacher like a true
mentor or even a father figure, having received more love and concern
from him then he ever had from his supposed master. Unsure of how to
proceed he came to Bai-Wulan in secret and told the retired fighter
turned monk what he had been tasked to do, as his mentor had much
more experience with such things thanks to his days with the special
forces. The old man seemed unfazed by his pupil's story, claiming to
have known all along what was going on and how it would end, yet
training the young swordsmen anyway because of the potential he had
sensed within him. He went on to say that it mattered little as he
was more then ready to accept his fate at this point, having
successfully completed Ronin's training and instilled within him a
sense of what was right and wrong, a trait which he seemed to have
lost since the recovery of his memories and one he could never have
learned from the one he had once called Master. That revelation
cinched it for the conflicted youth, he could not kill this man who
had showed him such kindness, even in the face of his own potential
demise. He instead worked very carefully, helping his friend plant
the necessary evidence and faking his mentor's death, helping him to
escape to a place where Miyamoto’s darkness had yet to spread, and
most likely never will.



Following the affair at the temple
Ronin took on the clan name of his newest mentor, and returned home
to warn the village of the dangers Miyamoto represented.
Unfortunately his revelation came to late to do the village any good,
as the group of rogues he had hoped to thwart had managed to beat him
to the punch and attack the still recovering village, stealing
several prized bending and weapon scrolls and severely injuring his
patron in the Second Division in the process. Full of anger over the
incident and guilt for not having dealt with Miyamoto when he’d had
the chance, he set out on his own to pursue the thieves and severe
the ties with his former teacher once and for all. He caught up to
the group several days later in a small outlaw town, where they were
attempting to organize a buy for their stolen goods and decompress
from the recent operation. Disguising himself as an older gentlemen,
Ronin established himself as a potential buyer and setup a meeting to
discuss terms. His initial intention was to recover the scrolls and
then come back a little later to finish Miyamoto once and for all,
but part way through the transaction something tipped the older man
off to what was going on and he attacked. Left with little choice at
this point, Ronin dropped his guise and went on the offensive,
fighting a two on six battle to defend both himself from men
obviously intent on killing him. He did have a few advantages over
most of his opponents however, as he was were better trained, highly
skilled in his chosen specializations. This allowed him to handle the
majority of the rogues despite the odds, in the end leaving him to
deal with only Miyamoto and the stolen scrolls. The battle with his
former mentor was a fierce one, taxing the bodies and skills of both
fighters as they plied their skills against one another in mortal
combat, but in the end the student was able to prevail over the
master. The skills that wanderer had beaten into his protege as a
child ended up being his downfall, Ronin’s body reading skills
having allowed him to find the weakness in the older man’s stance
and exploit it with a counterstrike by allowing himself to get hit
and access the opening.

With Miyamoto defeated at last, Ronin
was finally able to fully put his past behind him and look to the
present. To that end he returned to the White Lotus with the stolen
techniques, receiving a promotion to commander for his heroic efforts
on behalf of the Order and based on the recommendation of his
friend/recruiter was assigned as temporary commander of the Second
Battalion until she recovered from her injuries. This was quite an
accomplishment for someone who was only a little over sixteen, but
such a fact was lost on him as it wasn’t in his nature to care
about such things or let them go to his head. Following Fei’s
recovery he returned the commander’s seat to her, and upon her
promotion to the role of leader due to her father’s illness
declined once again taking on that particular mantel. Saying that
he’d learned that he was unsuited for such an important role due to
his manner of behavior, the usual reckless attitude with which he
approached things not being suited to one who held the lives of so
many people under his sway. Instead he chose this time to once again
leave the order, this time permanently so that he might pursue his
own path and better help those who need his skills. He has continued
working to further hone his skills and improve the state of things as
best he can, earning quite a reputation for himself thanks to his
talents in his chosen fields, and bringing honor and prestige to his
adopted clan while cementing a name for himself in the minds of those
who would prey on the weak. He is seemingly oblivious to all of this
however, taking everything in stride one day at a time, and enjoying
what free time he can find to act his age.

During the Equalist uprising, he proved to be an invaluable ally to the Avatar in her battle against the forces of Amon. Making his grand debut in the public eye by shedding his shadow vigilante persona to come to the aid of several benders as they tried to flee the mechanized assault and reach the safety of the sewers. An ironic turn of events given that the Equalists themselves had started out in the very same labyrinthine tunnels. While his act of heroism was successful, it cost him the life of his most trusted companion and long time ally: his katana. Like any warrior of his sort, such a loss was truly heartbreaking, but he didn't have time to properly mourn the loss as his expertise was still needed if the benders in Republic City were to survive. To that end, he offered up his services to the Resistance as an experienced commander and explorer of the underground tunnels in which they currently resided. Leading a small militia cell in conducting various guerrilla warfare and rescue operations against the Equalists, and buying time for the Avatar to get her act together to end the threat Amon represented.

This all came to a head at the victory rally held at the Pro Bending Arena, in which Eiji led his unit in an attempt to rescue the captured airbender clan, only to be beat to the punch by Korra and Mako and their own rescue attempt. Adjusting his plan accordingly, he and his team instead opted to draw heat away from the pair and secure an escape route for Tenzin and his family. The plan was successful thanks to the timely arrival of the former White Lotus member's commander: Sanjuro Fei, as well as a small contingent of reinforcements from the Order. In addition to this much welcome aid, Fei had also brought him a new sword. One forged from space borne metals, and capable of cutting through the thick armor of the Equalist mecha tanks with relative ease.

Following the so-called Revolution and the subsequent manhunts for rogue Equalists, the ronin turned his energies towards aiding in the reconstruction efforts. Taking on temporary work as a carpenter in order to help rebuild the homes lost during the fighting, as well as trying to provide additional flop houses for the destitute souls living in the tunnels beneath the city who had lent the Resistance their homes during the conflict. The work was peaceful and rewarding enough, but at heart he was still a wanderer, and knew that his skill with the sword was far superior to his skill with a hammer. Eventually his wanderlust became too great, and he once more traded in his apron for a blade as he again took to the road in search of those who needed his help.

Eventually his wanderings brought him to the frozen south, his fate crossing paths with the machinations of Unalaq as he moved to conquer the Southern Water in order to open the portal to the Spirit Realm and free the dark lord Vaatu. Joining forces with a nonprofit civilian relief effort operating in the region, he and his new found allies tried to minimize the damage done to the civilian populace and infrastructure, while at the same time appealing to the White Lotus for aid in keeping the peace. The conflict was believed to be an internal affair however, as Unalaq's true motivations were known only to himself, and thus no additional outside aid was set to arrive. This of course limited the amount of help that could be provided, but most were grateful for what little relief or supplies they were provided. Some of course felt bitter over the rest of the world's indifference to their plight, and felt that they should take things into their own hands in order to get people's attention. Such individuals were easy to spot however when one is skilled in the art of reading people, as well as an experienced guerrilla commander who knows the signs of a budding terror network. While Eiji may not have agreed with the stand-offish policies of the current world order, he most certainly didn't agree with the idea of making others suffer in the hopes of inciting their anger in your favor. Which meant that he was forced to take an active role in nipping said ideas in the bud before they could bear fruit. No easy task when one was considered an outsider, and was in pursuit of foes who many believed to be potential heroes depending on how the information was spun. In some ways this made his mission similar in nature to the hunt for the Equalists several months prior, and while that irony was not lost on him, he didn't allow it to deter him either.

His pursuit of the apparent terrorists and their support network brought him back to Republic City, and eventually onto the scent of a man named Varrick. It would seem however that the man pulling the strings had insulated himself rather well, which made decapitating his organization nearly impossible without additional allies. Before he could enlist the aid of such an ally in the form of the boy Mako, whom he had heard was on a similar trail to the one he was following, his would-be partner alerted their quarry to his pursuit and ended up getting himself arrested as a result. Obviously frustrated by this turn of events, the ronin was effectively forced to start from square one now that his prey was wise to the leaks in his plan. Some information was still flowing however, as he had learned of a possible attempt on the Republic's president that seemed credible. Said revelations came with little to no time to spare though, but thankfully Mako's brother Bolin had been on the scene to prevent the potential kidnapping before Varrick's minions could escape with their prize and advance the CEO's plans.

Shortly after this the Water Tribe's civil war came to an end, the battle between Korra and Vaatu, and the resulting harmonic convergence pretty decisively ending the conflict as the world now had more important things to worry about. Eiji once more found that he was needed to help rebuild the Republic and help its citizens cope with the changes they were facing. But not before completing his commitment to helping the Southerners rebuild their shattered lives and hopefully work out a more peaceful relationship with their Northern brothers. Because of this, he has only just recently returned to the capitol city, and is certainly surprised by what he has found there. What is to be done about it however, has yet to be seen...

Code of
Approval: Shaded by Night!

RP Sample:
n/a

Source: Nezuel, Ad posted on Requiem from
Geass 150k to Nez!
-------------------------------
FACE-CLAIM


Himura Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai
X), Eiji of the White Moon Clan