Battle Arena Toshinden Redux Version 2/Characters

The profiles, backstories, and spoiler heavy details of Battle Arena Toshinden REDUX.

Please read at your own risk!

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Eiji Shinjo

 * Age: 20 (1996), 21 (1997), 23 (1999)
 * Birthday: March 30th, 1976
 * Nationality: Japanese
 * Marital Status: In a relationship
 * Profession: 45th Master of the Shinjo Ryu School of Bushido, Adventurer and Traveler
 * Wields: The Byakko White Tiger Katana, a curious family heirloom
 * Likes: Stopping at bridges to catch the sight and the breeze
 * Most Cherished Possessions: A picture of he and his girlfriend Emi, taken on a vacation trip, his family's home
 * Hobbies: Being a tour guide of Aizu
 * Skilled at: Sports, especially soccer
 * Favorite thing to eat: Regional ekibento, yakitori
 * Dislikes: Cockroaches, Ghosts


 * Character Themes
 * Unstoppable Day - First Bout
 * Azure Pinnacle - Second Bout

''A young and brave adventurer, raised in the art of the Shinjo Ryu school of swordsmanship and bushido. He enters the tournament for thrills, but it seems as if that is a front. What is this young man truly looking for?''

From the mountainous regions of Kanto, Japan, in the historic region of Aizu in Fukushima Prefecture, renowned for its samurai throughout the country, lives Eiji Shinjo. Born of noble and legendary blood from the Genji aristocratic families, Eiji is also the youngest master of the Shinjo Ryu school of Bushido, taught to him by his father and eldest brother, Sho. Left fatherless when he was only 6, his only brother taught him the craft while his mother, a renowned seamstress and tailor of traditional Japanese apparel, known for putting the Kyoto Nishijin schools of weaving to shame, supported them through their lives along with the family fortune.

But when he was 17, Sho immediately vanished after challenging him to a duel, and mysteriously bequeathed him the title of Master in the school. Completely shocked and left without any reasons for his departure, her mother soon spoke the truth behind the events of Sho and his father's death. Eiji then took off into the world, searching for him for over two years in underworld fighting circuits and martial arts societies, but did not find any trace of his whereabouts.

Upon two years after his venture, a mysterious man and woman, formally dressed in black, came to his training halls after his last class. Bearing invitations to the Toshinden Tournament, Eiji initially declined, until the invitees mentioned the registration of "a certain Sho Shinjo". Hearing the name of his eldest brother, Eiji immediately accepted the invitation in attempts to finally confront him.

His weapon, the Great Flashing Byakko White Katana, is a family heirloom, said to have been passed down since the weapon was in the possession of the Genji and Matsudaira clans.

Aizu Legend surrounding it states that the katana was forged of a broken iron mirror, said to have contained the spiritual powers of the namesake White Tiger of the West; being invulnerable to wear and tear, capable of even cutting through metal, and that those that wield it are of those whose destinies are to become the guardians and upholders of humanity and compassion. Even greater myths surrounding the blade, such as it being said to have great magical powers of restoration and destruction are documented, but still remains unproven.

Kayin Amoh

 * Age: 21 (1996), 22 (1997)
 * Birthday: December 24th, 1975
 * Nationality: Scottish
 * Marital Status: Single
 * Occupation: Independent musician/artist, undercover bounty hunter and contract killer
 * Wields: The long fabled sword Excalibur, which he calls Caliburn to avoid any unneeded attention
 * Likes: Cars, bikes, anything wheeled
 * Skilled at: Guitar and singing
 * Most Cherished things in the world: The times where he can embrace the stillness of nature and forget about the world, Naru, his foster daughter, his family's heirloom, Caliburn
 * Hobbies: Reading, fixing anything wheeled, attending automobile shows
 * Favorite thing to eat: Vegetarian dishes with onions, especially bulb onions
 * Dislikes: Meat, especially lamb (he bit into an undercooked lamb chop which spurt blood at him when he was young)


 * Character Themes
 * Hot Shot Scot

''A bounty hunter and traveling solo guitarist, well versed in British and Japanese schools of swordsmanship and martial arts for his career. He also enters the tournament for thrills, but like his childhood friend, what is he truly looking for?''

Born in the city of London, the Amoh family is said to be some of the last blood relatives to the Knights of the Round Table, and specifically, that of King Arthur. While raised in a humble home amongst their noble lineage and legacy, he lost his mother at childbirth, and soon his father was assassinated by a bounty hunter by the name of Storm when he was only 4. Storm, guilt stricken over the grief and pain he had afflicted onto the young Kayin, soon adopted him. Still upset over the loss of his only family, Kayin coldly accepted.

His youth spent living in the US, and traveling throughout the world with his adoptive father, Kayin soon warmed up and forgave his father's killer. Years went by and he was an outstanding guitarist at 15. But something dark had always plagued him. A question that was never asked. "Why did you kill my father?" The night he did attempt to ask however, was when they came. Killers out for Storm came to their home, and they would also come for Kayin, who fled the scene. When the authorities aided him to his home, everyone vanished without a trace. This would be the last time he would see his father again.

As the years came by, it was already 1994. Steeped into the underworld of bounty hunting and illegal assassinations, Kayin bitterly did so in attempts to find his adoptive father, and understand why his real father was killed. In between his gigs and stage time, did the young man who desired to live his life without conflict, had to go back into the shadows of society, the roots of his misery and suffering, where vice and sin was a common way to see tomorrow again.

But another night would place him deeper into the dregs of the underworld. Broadcasted live, Kayin soon witnessed Storm's death through the Toshinden's very cameras. Horribly shocked, upset, and flooded with emotions, his eyes soon gazed upon his father's assailant. Everything that held up his world soon came crashing down. Plunging deeper into hatred, upset and hurt, Kayin vowed vengeance. He would enter the tournament and track down his father's slayer.

Sophia

 * Age: 24 (1996)
 * Nationality: Russian
 * Marital Status: Single
 * Occupation: Private Investigator
 * Wields:
 * Likes: Gazing at a star filled sky on a cloudless night
 * Hobbies: Music Appreciation, refining her performance and musical skills
 * Skilled At: Piano, rhythmic gymnastics
 * Most Cherished Things in the world: The responsibility of taking care of your beauty
 * Favorite things to eat: Anything that goes well with a specified alcoholic beverage (she enjoys a refined sense of culinary palate)
 * Dislikes: People who are too proud for their own good

Ellis

 * Age: 16 (1996), 17 (1997), 20 (1999)
 * Nationality: Turkish
 * Marital Status: Single
 * Occupation: World Famous Dancer and Acrobat
 * Wields: Twin dirks past down from a late friend
 * Likes: The happiness of people, especially children
 * Hobbies:
 * Skilled at: Gymnastics, Climbing trees, able to peel fruit in record time
 * Favorite thing to eat: Anything sweet, especially Turkish Delights and mochi (She admits they are guilty pleasures, but she can't deny her love for them)
 * Dislikes: Thunder and stormy weather

Rudy "Rungo" Irons

 * Age: 30 (1996), 31 (1997)
 * Nationality: American
 * Marital Status: Married
 * Occupation: Field Management Miner, Experienced Resourceman
 * Wields:
 * Likes:
 * Most Cherished things in the world: His family, working smart and hard, the times where he can get together with friends for a drink
 * Hobbies:
 * Skilled at:
 * Favorite thing to eat: Buffalo meat dishes
 * Dislikes: Environmental pollution of all sorts, especially when cities dump trash and waste illegally

''A giant of a man, whose strength belies a heart of gold, and basks in the wide reaches of nature. But to those that come to him with malevolence and wickedness, they shall know the wrath brought about through his indignation.''

The son of a nature conscious couple, Rungo Irons is a miner with experience also in the logging and fishing industry. Raised in the countrysides of the Midwestern United States and ingrained with a love and understanding of nature, he is also a staunch advocate for advancements in environmentally safe and stable technologies and methods in many fields of society.

Despite working in careers that seemingly contradict his values that he grew up with, Rungo does so in attempts to find ways that man can excavate and obtain resources that doesn't tax the natural environment, especially in a time where the effects of pollution have already made their mark in the world.

One day on the job, Rungo and his crew stumbled across a uranium deposit during a routine vein expansion expedition. Sealing it off because of the dangers it presented, both at the moment and potentially soon, his employers later charted the other side of the mining area since the land's purchase, discovering that an unknown group had created a hidden extraction plant and found the uranium vein unknowingly behind their backs.

Upon this discovery however, the charter and his group mysteriously vanished three weeks later. Sensing that something foul was afoot, and having caught wind of alleged rumors of darker connections, Rungo soon discovered that a small group in his company allowed the illegal trespassing of a puppet Junior mining company of the Gerard Foundation to excavate the uranium for their own dark purposes.

Having reported the group and the events that occurred to the authorities, Rungo believed this to the be end of the conspiracy. But that would not hold true to what was held in store for him.

Weeks later during his vacation time, on a tranquil spring night, Rungo alone was attacked by a group of thugs demanding his attention. Despite fending off the thugs with ease, a man and a woman in black attire soon engaged him in conversation. Soon speaking of his utmost importance and invitation to the Toshinden, Rungo refused to partake in its bloody spectacles, but upon his words, two people were pulled out of the car at gunpoint. Much to his fears, the Secret Society had kidnapped his pregnant wife Lila and his son Christopher for his meddling in their affairs.

"Should you decline your participation, it would be a great shame- For both ourselves and yourself, Mr. Irons.", coldly spoken from the frigid mouths of the invitees. "We know of another wonderful limelight for you and your family to partake in, should you think otherwise, but please, we hope to see you star on our show. See you soon."

Realizing that even the law could not help him now, Rungo, heavy at heart and full of resolve, brandishes his weapon and prepares to face whatever stakes comes at him to save his family.

Duke B. Rambert

 * Age:
 * Nationality: French
 * Occupation: The Lord and Heir to the Rambert Estate
 * Wields:
 * Likes: Afternoon tea in his manor, while overlooking the vast fields of Auvergne
 * Most Cherished things in the world:
 * Hobbies: Fox hunting, horse breeding
 * Skilled at: Sharpshooting, getting to the point of a topic
 * Favorite thing to eat:
 * Dislikes: None; states that "A true gentleman has even begrudging respect, if not, mutual understanding, and tolerance, for his most unsavory of worldly things."
 * Not so fortunate with: Finding the right woman (sadly, he has had quite the experience with golddiggers and women with malign intentions regarding his family's legacy)

Gaia

 * Age: 39 (1996), 40 (1997)
 * Nationality: Half-Blooded Japanese
 * Marital Status: Widower
 * Occupation: Shugenja Yamabushi / Ascetic Warrior Monk
 * Wields: Bad End,
 * Likes:
 * Hobbies: Deep Sea Fishing, horseback riding, training his body
 * Skilled at: Performing magical spells
 * Most Cherished things in the world: His family's necklaces (custom ordered and made of orichalcum by the Secret Society's best alchemists), his daughter whom he purposely separated from to protect her, a photo of his family 14 years ago
 * Favorite thing to eat: Tuna, especially Maguro sashimi and sushi
 * Dislikes: Defeat (has a strong sense of pride)

Sho Shinjo

 * Age: 26 (1996), 27 (1997), 29 (1999)
 * Birthday: June 23th, 1970
 * Nationality: Japanese
 * Marital Status: ?
 * Profession: Ronin
 * Wields: The Hien Ken, a blade said to mimic the swiftness of a swallow's tail, and whose grace is only manifested in the hands of a master
 * Likes: ?
 * Hobbies: ?
 * Most Cherished: ?
 * Dislikes: ?


 * Character Themes
 * Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, Sebastian Bach - First Bout
 * Toccata of the Champions - Second Bout
 * Perch of the Daring - Third Bout

''A mysterious, and powerful wandering ronin and adventurer. The brother of Eiji himself, what are his motives? His disappearance long ago only warranted his reasons for doing so.''

Sho Shinjo. The name that spreads silence and awe with its utter mention.

The oldest son of the Shinjo family, Sho is the former 44th master of the Shinjo Ryu School of Bushido. A prodigy and quick learner in his youth, he even started training his youngest brother, Eiji, and Kayin Amoh, a family friend, at the age of twelve since the passing of his late father.

Having passed on the family tradition to his youngest brother, Sho, with his elegant Hien Ken in hand, travels the world as a merciless fighter, who has quickly grown in legend throughout the world of martial arts and weaponship; even quickly making short work of competitions, from the publicly sponsored, to the underground, and even brought defeat to many schools of martial arts throughout the world. And as if at the command of the slightest breeze of the wind, he immediately vanishes, to his next conquest....

Having won the 32nd Toshinden without much challenge, he mysteriously makes his way back to the 33rd Toshinden, once more..... And being silent, without any words to speak, what does Sho want from the world? Maybe fighting is his only way of expression....

Tracy Higgins

 * Age: 22 (1997), 24 (1999)
 * Birthday: January 11th, 1975
 * Nationality: American- New Yorker
 * Marital Status: Single
 * Wields: Twin electroshock tipped tonfas by the name of Melody and Sweetstuff, which she has long invested memories in
 * Likes: The Rocky Horror Picture Show and its sequel Shock Treatment, being easy going and carefree
 * Hobbies: Watching Nickelodeon, spending time in California and Florida when she's sick of the city, going to concerts and musicals, practicing karate and acrobatic gymnastics
 * Most Cherished things in the world: The five Aerosmith CD albums (notably Pump, Gems, Get a Grip, Done With Mirrors, and Permanent Vacation) and a group picture, all autographed by Steven Tyler and the crew, thanks to a backstage pass courtesy of NYPD, her best friend's pendant
 * Skilled at: Hollywood Stunt-level driving, breaking bricks with her bare hands
 * Favorite thing to eat: Anything simple enough to pick up and eat
 * Dislikes: The Rolling Stones, the movie Sleepaway Camp (she snuck into the movie's opening night when she was 8), slasher movies in general, Law & Order, being taped for Cops, being told to grow up, being called "Miss McClane", needing to write apology letters for her "use of excessive force"
 * Not really good at: Having to write up a report, especially after having heavily injured the perpetrators involved
 * A secret she'd kill you over: She is still a fan of My Little Pony


 * Character Themes
 * Can't Stop Messin - Aerosmith - Second Bout

A feisty, reckless, and lively free spirit who would easily fit the definition of boisterous if she knew that word. A modern day girl raised in the ranges of New York City, Tracy Higgins is one of the wildest officers on this side of the NYPD. While fun loving and carefree, you'd better watch out for her while she's on the job! While an upholder of justice and peace, she has a notorious rap amongst her fellow enforcers, known for provoking the nastiest of perpetrators for her to beat down without mercy (with full legal right, of course), and disobeying orders to fully complete a case. Successful in most of her antics, those paired with her are often subject to some of the longest days and heart stopping moments in their career.

Sometime after the 33rd Toshinden, in November of 1996, her department was soon given further evidence related to a cold case that had occurred in Spring of 1981, where a car accident and bomb had killed two victims, a woman by the name of Kaede, and her newborn son, both of whom were of Japanese citizenship. The evidence provided information that she was formerly in league with the Secret Society as one of its highest profiles, and that her killing was the result of an internal power struggle within the higher ranks of the group.

Tracy, ever yet notorious, was given the assignment due to her experience in the field and her eagerness to take on cases to eventually become a detective, as cases surrounding the Secret Society required sharp thinkers and very adept officers, with many previous ones having ended in either cold ends or dead agents, with Tracy showing a great deal of acuity, prowess, and much to her benefit, luck, on duty.

But the evidence given was truly a sight to behold and take in. Not only coming with documents regarding Kaede's career and employers, internal workings of the Secret Society, and a cassette tape confession of the witness; there then came data regarding the schematics and workings of the car bomb all dealt with new technology never before seen in previous cases. Next, came documents of phenomena of supernatural and preternatural means, and even given proof directly, through the storage of items in paper, and mysterious symbols that enacted different effects. Various CDs and storage mediums for computers held simulation data regarding many projects involving such topics, and even those regarding experiments on human potential and vitalism. Finally, the evidence pointed all of such things to one culprit: the current Uranus executive Julia of the Gerard Foundation. While Tracy found this hard and overwhelming to take in at first, magic wasn't all that hard to believe, as Qi was described to her by her karate master, and the Secret Society did have their large urban legends and rumors leaked from confessing and regretful suspects.

But as the Secret Society was a global crime syndicate, and Julia being a citizen of Switzerland, Tracy honestly didn't really know what to do with the case. While she could contact Interpol, members of the Society were often very elusive and oddly made their way throughout the world faster than anyone could keep track of, plus they did not often appear in broad daylight or were found in one location for long. Even many of their facilities and locations were rumored to be often covertly disguised or hidden, and highly guarded, with any found location in the past now currently abandoned. If anything for Tracy, she would need to go undercover, one thing she was very bad at, and this case was looking to be a great headache...

Much to her luck however, she forgot that a majority of criminals she placed behind bars and greater degrees of racketing she's stopped, all had a great deal of relation and contract to the Secret Society. On a warming January day after her birthday, the NYPD received a message regarding for Tracy to meet in Central Park at 11:30 pm. A bit groggy and hungover in her morning, a fantastic realization hit. She didn't need to go undercover. Her past victories and arrests were enough to garner their attention. With what she's done to their buisness, they were looking for her.

Her weapons, the Dynamo Knights Criminal Maneuvering System, are the results of the fast advancements in technology, and the innovation and creativity in tandem with such trends. The results of combining takedown weaponry with electroshock mechanics for added subduing force, it is widely popular for such an idea for situations requiring needed force and extraction without lethality. While such weapons are common place in the American police force, Tracy's is a different story.

Her version is a latest limited edition model, the 1994 Electro Shadow, offered exclusively for notable officers throughout the nation. Named for classifications best associated with covert situations and infiltration, the weapon is a pair of tonfas made exclusively for underhand usage, with the short end the barrel of a miniature pulse dynamo that can fire a bolt of electricity. In addition, both feature different polarity settings, allowing them to deliver a powerful shock through attraction, and a repulse blast through opposing polarity.

Having come in a standard metallic navy blue black, Tracy enjoys her Electro Shadows in custom flavor. Her current pairs in magenta and purple with a silver white inner body, they are the result of having gone through two pairs of Shadows already, having lost half pairs in notably large cases through them being destroyed, and combining the surviving twins together for a third pair, realizing how much money she's spent attempting to get the second pair. She affectionately calls her Shadows "Melody" and "Sweetstuff", and loves them dearly for everything about them.

Plus, her tutelage of karate in the arts of such a weapon, and self created techniques add more to her arsenal. Added with an understanding of Qi and a fiercely hot blooded fighting spirit,

Roads of Blood

After her successful infiltration into the Secret Society, and gaining the evidence and information needed to close the case, as well as on the Society themselves (and the nights of having to type up that report, all injured and beat up after the Toshinden, by the way), Tracy was successfully raised into position as a detective. The year during which she held the position.... was not as glamorous as she would have thought it would be.

In addition to her own pursuit of tracking down the infamous "Animal Man" serial killer, the power vacuum left behind after the disappearance of the Secret Society's grand influence saw the rise in criminal incidents and activity, attempting to establish their own hold in the underworld hastily and messily. While taking on case after case, and exhausted eventually, the worst thing had to come in line during her worst time...

On the day of her birthday, in 1998, leads were given to an ever growing in country Right Wing extremist terrorist cabal attempting to gain influence in the US due to the shifty and tumultuous political climate.

Vermillion
''A fiendish and shadowy, tall, imposing individual, where many have met the cold ends of their lives from the mouths of his many guns. Lurking in the darkness, silent as he views battles from afar, he waits for a victor, so that he may claim the title from their dead hands...''
 * Wields: A variety of firearms and well hidden devices
 * Likes: ?
 * Hobbies: ?
 * Cherished thing in the world: ?
 * Dislikes:?

David

 * Age: 15
 * Birthday:
 * Nationality: British -
 * Marital Status: Single
 * Likes:
 * Hobbies:
 * Cherished thing in the world:
 * Favorite thing to eat:
 * Dislikes:

Shizuku Fuji

 * Age: 23
 * Birthday:
 * Nationality: Japanese - Nagoya
 * Martial Status: Single, and not currently interested for the time being
 * Likes:
 * Hobbies:
 * Cherished thing in the world:
 * Favorite thing to eat:
 * Dislikes: