To call Kanashi embarrassed would be an understatement. The urge to commit seppuku in order to avoid the shame which he felt he’d brought down upon his entire lineage was more than difficult then he’d like to admit to suppress. However he knew he had to put things like pride aside for now. He could complain and be embarrassed later but right now it was the time for work. He’d just rejoined the Venator Society so he can’t mess up again already,

  “It’s okay Kanashi-chan, no need to be embarrassed.” Yuko said as she pat Kanashi on the back. Her expression, like one you’d wear to comfort a crying child.

  “I’m fine, really.” Kanashi said with a sniffle, his nose was still clogged and eyes red and puffy from crying.

  “Well it appears as if everything has calmed down some.” Nordon said, rubbing his nose awkwardly. “Akatora should return any minute.” He nodded.

  Then as if on cue the door to the makeshift office swung open and standing in the doorway was Taishi Akatora, Hachibuto of the Toumeikan. His head nearly touching the top of the doorway's lip. Behind him and equally as tall was his son Taishi Beniise despite being 19 years old only a year older than Kanashi he stood equal in height with his father at a staggering 6 '6 and almost as wide as well with the same thick muscle.

  Unlike his father Beniise had a rather round and hairless face, if not for the deep scars across it you’d think he was far too innocent to have the body he did. The first scar stretched from his right jaw to nearly his eye and likewise above that stretching from his brow to the peak of his hairline was another long deep scar. As if someone had carved a blade into his face. On the opposite side of his head and right next to this temple was a ring shaped scar, one earned from having taken a bullet to the skull. Yet even with the scars and that loss of innocence he might have had he was still without a doubt beautiful in an odd way. His eyes sharp and tilted upwards had long lashes and he had a perfectly sized nose with plump lips. Nodding to Kanashi and Yuko, the latter flinching visibly at the gesture.

  Continuing behind Beniise was the next member of Akatoras Joshin. The elite four of his company and most trusted employees. 2nd in command after Beniise and the man who knew Akatora the longest was Ohi Yoshin. Walking up after Akatora and Beniise he was dramatically shorter. Standing perhaps 5’6 his hair made him somewhat taller being fashioned into a tall mohawk which continued to the rear of his head where it became a mullet. His face was rather squished with tiny slant eyes and a flat nose. His chin had bits of stubble along it and underneath his head was a thick dark blue biker jacket with a Tiger Paw embroidered onto the back. His face was a scowl at first one which expressed a desire to cause conflict for the sake of conflict however as he scanned the room for any victims his eyes came Jinen Lutece. That proud, smug expression quickly shattered into a ghost white meekness. Lowering his head he quickly spilled to the furthest empty seat from Jin and sat down quietly. This being something he’d never done since Kanashi had first met him only a week or so ago before.

  Coming up behind Yoshin and next in line was Kokofude Sekihara. He was without a doubt the most approachable and even friendly member of Akatoras Joshin. Standing somewhat tall and lanky he had flat red hair and a body covered in tattoos. You could spend hours trying to find each one and still not find them all. However the most glaring tattoo, one which you could not miss was the only one on his face. A large lizard like Kaiju inked onto his left cheek. The Kaijus mouth open and full of razor sharp teeth, its thick armored body wrapped around his jaw until only the tail coiled to the back of his neck.

  Upon seeing Kanashi, Sekihara let out a smile and wave, even adding a light to Yuko before finding a seat next to Ohi. Sitting cross legged he only then seemed to take notice of Jin and a bead of sweat visibly tricked down his cheek over the kaiju tattoo.

  The fourth and final member of Akatoras Joshin to enter the room was surely the most blizzard. A man naked Gyoukou Nejimaru with what could only be described as a cat-like face. His eyes round with slit pupils traveled down into a square snot with button nose and whiskers sticking out from where a man's mustache would be. His hair spiked up on each side of his head and appeared like ears. His nose twitched as he looked around the room as if smelling the air. He continued to do so for a moment until his eyes settled on Jin, upon which the hair on his head stood straight up and his eyes constricted. Mouth curling back into what could only be called a submissive smile he bowed his head before taking a seat next to Sekihara.

  “What the hell is that!?” Yuko asked with a yelp as she started straight at Nejimaru.

  “Yuko!” Nordon barked, furrowing his brows at the girl who muttered an apology with clasped hands.

  “Yeah he’s a weird one alright huh?” Kenji agreed, not reading the room at all. However while he commented on Nejimarus appearance his eyes were still focused on Jin who sat next to Nordon. Yuko sitting on the opposite chair.

  “He has a [Felis silvestris lybica] magical mutatoin bestial blessing.” Jin whispered into Yukos ear with a shrug, the girl shivering at his voice in her ear she looked at him with a blush.

  Across the room and sitting next to Kenji was Kanashi. Sitting next to Yuko with Kenji to his side he let a frown escape his lips. When he asked Sekihara, the man shrugged and explained that people were born different. And while that wasn't exactly the wrong way to phrase it, that definitely wasn’t the kind of answer Kanashi had been looking for. Bestial blessings were something Jin had briefly explained to him. A person born with a part of their soul also housing a [Beast] or animal in it, real or imaginary they gained the abilities of it at a cost. If your will was too weak that [Beast] could take over fully, your sense of self drowned out by the beast which takes over your life.

  If Nejimaru really did have a house cat blessing like Jin implied then surely he’d already lost some ground to the creature, maybe at birth when he was too weak to fight of the beasts natural instincts.

  “!”

  Then Jin, upon focusing on Akatora let his mouth fall slightly open and a nervous smile broke out across his face. “Ah you’re Akatora?” He asked with an awkward laugh to which Akatora in turn gave a nervous expression though his was more like a scowl. “Sorry about that in the hallway earlier then, no hard feelings right?” Jin asked.

  “Of course.” Akatora g rumpled, nodding his head with a plastic smile.

  “Good, good. And hey you’re strong, be proud of that.” Jin said with a white toothed smile and thumbs up which Kanashi recoiled at.

  This is why people don’t like you Jin… Kanashi thought, surely he was not one to talk about something like that with his social skill set but he felt confident enough after seeing the clear behavioral pattern which Jin fell into. If he was hated by people that was exactly why, he was a tone deaf jackass. Just like me I guess… Kanashi frowned.

  “It seems you’ve already met them?” Nordon asked aloud with a bit of a startle, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

  “Sorta, we bumped into each other in the hallway when I was heading to the bathroom.” Jin shrugged his demeanor back to its usual form already.

  Akatora nodded to Nordon that it was true and the latter seemed taken aback still.

  “Well then, we should be able to skip introductions. Akatora while you have excused yourself and after everything that happened here… I explained everything important to Jinen.” Nordon said with a nod.

  “How convenient.” Akatora agreed. taking the seat next to his son, under his size the chair seemed like no more than a small child's stool he was forced to balance on.

  “Saves you the hassle of having to listen to it again then doesn't it?” Jin said, waving.

  “If I’m to assume it was done in good faith then yes.” Akatora argued, though his voice was calm and eyes no more narrow than usual his words did carry a hesitance. A hesitance that Kanashi had yet to hear from the normally stone-faced Hachibuto.

  I guess I can’t blame him for being uneasy... Kanashi thought, squeezing his hands together tightly. Before there was just me then Kenji to deal with but now he’s completely out numbered and with Jin here he probably feels like he’s being pushed into a corner. And it’s not like any of my words have any assurance to him either. For all he knows I’m now on their side and not his.

  “Well then, now let’s get to the fine details if we can.” Nordon said, clearing his throat. “Now that we’ve all been introduced to each other briefly and agreed to cooperate we’ll need to form a new and cohesive plan covering all of our strengths and weaknesses.”

  “Correct, Jinen. As it is now we’ve gained both a huge advantage but also a liability with this partnership.”

  “Liability?” Akatora asked with a snort, his brow raised.

  “I mean no offense to your capabilities Taishi-San. It’s simply the issue of now having a much larger collection of allies then previously planned for. Not only that, the information we possess on our enemies has also turned into not only a blessing but a curse.”

  “How so?” Yuko asked, piping up with a tilt of her head.

  “The reason being we might have more to worry about compared to before.” Nordon answered.

  “Blegh, worry this and worry that, that’s the only kinda thing you talk about.” Kenji scoffed and unsheathed his Katana, the blade shining in the overcast light. “This is how you stop worrying.” He said with a grin. “If we have more people we win, it’s that simple.”

  “I like the way you think, Kenji.” Jin laughed leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed. “But you’re missing a big piece of the puzzle, this isn’t just about winning the battle, it’s about winning the war. We need to keep the reputation of the Venator Society clean, if we swarm in with a bunch of people and beat the shit out of everyone… that’s not gonna look too good, we need to take them out quickly and efficiently.” He said, lowering his glasses and showing off his blood red eyes which seemed to have glowed even more than usual with the light above trickling down.

  Kenji frowned at his response, sheathing his sword to his side.

  “Think of it like this Kenji, sometimes even if the Samurai wins if people think the Shogun is the bad guy it doesn’t matter if they won.” Kanashi explained with a smile.

  “I got that part, but that doesn’t mean I agree with it.” Kenji argued.

  “Enough.” Nordon said, clearing his throat. “While you do raise a good point Kenji that we have more than enough allies on our side now with the inclusion of the Toumeikan, Hojo and possibly the Soutou and Sosaki there’s like what Jinen had said still the issue of retaining our image throughout the entire ordeal. Our victory must not be passable, it must be completely successful."

  “So what does that mean you want from me?” Akatora asked, leaning forwards.

  “The location of each Hachibuto, Sanjougou and Susanori Kobe.” Nordon said bluntly.

  “You don’t know that already?” Akatora asked with almost a growl to his voice.

  “We have a general location for each of the Hachibuto, even the infamous Aotori. The issue we face however is that right now everything we plan relies more on luck than logic. Up until now the plan has been to divine and conquer, but that poses a greater risk of our reputation being tarnished if we do not suppress the foes quickly. And if our information has turned sour, then it’s more than possible to stumble and fall before the finish line. As for the Sanjougou we know their location without a doubt, the main issue here however is Susanori Kobe. We haven’t the slightest idea where he is or could be.” Nordon explained.

  “I can get all the Hachibuto into a single place at once.” Akatora said, silencing the room.

  “How so?” Nordon asked.

  “It’s simple, I use Kanashi.” Akatora said with a sly smile, not even looking at the one who’s name he’d just dropped as bait.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “W-wow what do you mean use me!?” Kanashi asked with a cry, his hands waving in the air.

  “To the Touemikan the most wanted man in the world at this time is Kanashi. That’s why I’ve been trying to keep him on a tight leash and out of their sight.” The emphasis Akatora put onto the world trying to make Kanashi slink back down into his seat quietly. His brow furrowed and face warped into a grimace. “If I say that I’ve found Kanashi the Hachibuto will come to me like flies on honey.”

  “Why would the Hachibuto come for Kanashi and why wouldn't you have already captured him yourself?” Nordon asked with a frown.

  “Because of him.” Akatora answered, pointing his thick meaty finger towards Jin who smirked with a raised brow. “If I say that Jinen Lutece is here in Tousen with Kanashi then they’re guaranteed to all come, along with their Joshin they’ll spare no expense to stop a potential invasion, especially at this point when Kobe has everything riding on the line for his ultimate goal.”

  “I didn’t know I was that popular.” Jin joked with a sly laugh which everyone chose to not ignore.

  “I see, but that still leaves the issue of Susanori Kobe.” Nordon said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

  “That’s for sure an issue alright. No one other than the Sanjougou know where Kobe is, and I’ve only met him twice in my life.”

  “...” Nordon frowned at Akatora’s answer which seemed to echo around the room. Yukos ears wiggled and her lips curved down into a pathetic expression. Even Jin frowned and furrowed his hair while Kanashi tried to act surprised as if he hadn’t known that already.

  “All I need to do is see him once, even from a mile away, even if he’s no more than a speck, and I’ll be able to track him across the country.” Jin said, leaning forwards and resting his hands on his knees, fingers interlocked.

  “There's a very small chance that he’s still here in Tousen. I saw him the day before yesterday, but he’s got barely any kinda aura to him and he can be anywhere in this city. And that's only if he isn’t already halfway across the country hiding in some hole.” Akatora sighed.

  “Can’t we just choke it out of the Three guys?” Kenji asked.

  “Kobe is far too slippery and the Sanjougou are far too loyal, even if they did tell us Kobe could leave the country on a boat before the Sanjougou finished their sentence. At that point the Toumeikan can continue anywhere in the world in secrecy, we need to wipe it out completely.” Akatora said.

  “...”

  “...”

  “I think we can find him.” Kanashi said, perking up.

  “?”

  Everyone turned to look at Kanashi, who smiled nervously. “I saw him, in Akatoras [memories] I know what he looks like and more then anything else I saw that Komuso priest he has to his side, and felt his aura, it was the same one that me and Kenji had felt when going to the Soutou estate the other day.”

  Akatora frowned at the mention of their not-so secret mission but it seemed as if this information was a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

  “Kenji do you remember when we chose the left path because you said the right had a bad feel to it?” Kanashi asked, looking at Kenji.

  “Yeah, I think so?” Kenji muttered, rubbing his chin in thought.

  “Could you find that guy again if you were close enough to him?”

  “Hmm, give or take 2 km yeah, I could find him, there’s no way to miss him.” Kenji answered, nodding his head.

  “Then it looks like everything has been figured out.” Jin said with a smile. “Kenji you’re coming with me, we’re gonna warp around this entire city at every single waypoint until you pick up his scent, then we’ll have our guy.” He grinned.

  Kenji frowned at this and looked at Kanashi who shrugged with a nervous smile.

  “I’m sure I can go with you.” Kanashi said, offering support.

  “Actually, Kanashi, I need you myself.” Akatora said, something which Kanashis stomach dropped slightly.

  “For what?” Kenji asked, his brow raised. Something which Kanashi echoed tilting his head to the side with a grimace.

  “We need to update everyone.” Akatora said, his face cold as stone.

  “?” Kanashis confusion seemed to only increase at this, his face contorting into a deep thought with creased brows and a lip turned upright.

  Who could we need to update? He wondered. He should be able to tell everyone who knows about this right away, I mean they all should be here first of all or at least in this area, it’s not hard to spread information across his yakuza anyways based on how he’s done it before… So is it not someone who he has easy access to then?

  “!”

  Kanashis eyes light up as if a light bulb have been switched on over his head. RAISETSU! He thought, snapping his finger. Though that pride in his quick conclusion quickly turned into an uncomfortable grimace as he remembered exactly what his last meeting with that Kitsune-like woman had been. How embarrassing and annoying just getting to her through all the prison checks was. And why would he need to update her? Does she have some role in this herself? He wondered scratching the top of his head.

  She honestly seemed to be more trouble then she was worth, but if Akatora had seen her valuable enough to partner with in some way in the first place and withhold that partnership since her incarceration then surely there was some value there. Even if Kanashi had no idea what it could be.

  “Sorry, Kenji but I’ll have to go with Akatora.”

  “...” Kenji's frown deepened and his eyes glazed over with what could only be called anxiety but that lasted for a mere moment before they looked like that of a madman once more.

  “Where would you be visiting if you don’t mind me asking?” Nordon asked, cutting in.

  “To gather information from an informant of mine from Royal Blue Prison.” Akatora answered without hesitation.

  Oh, I guess we didn't need to be secretive about it.

  “And who is this person, if that’s permissible to ask.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Akatora answered with the same stern but non threatening tone he always had when talking to Nordon. But Kanashi and Yuko still tensed up at the denial.

  “I see, well then if Sarumalder-San is to accompany you I have no reason to doubt your intentions behind this secret meeting.” Nordon said cooly, Though it was clear enough that he was not happy with his question being rejected.

  “What’re we gonna do then Nordon?” Yuko asked, tilting her head to the side, eyes wide and lips pursed.

  Nordon frowned at the lack of respect in his title but answered with not even a sigh. “We will be informing the other Venator Society Members of this alliance or at least those who will be responsible for participating.”

  “Speaking of which.” Jin said cutting in.

  “Speaking of?” Nordon asked, annoyed at having been cut off.

  “Who’s gonna join us in this from your side?”

  “Well, that’s confidential is it not?” Nordon asked, brushing the question off quickly.

  “Okay then I’ll go first.” Jin shrugged either not getting the hint or not caring at all in the first place. “We’ll have Hayai, Austin Connery, Duncan Withertree, Tobasco Chille, Medicine-Crow and Fleabius Roach for the main forces, along with a group of support from Alpha and Beta.” Jin rattled off, counting his fingers as he spoke to make sure no one was missed.

  “I don’t know any of those people besides Hayai…” Kanashi frowned to himself with a mutter. He really didn’t know many members of the Venator Society now that he thought of it. Hell he’d not even met all the captains though that probably wasn’t something to find too strange, it was probably more strange that he had met almost all of them except for one. But the only vice captain he could recall interacting with was Eugene under Jin and that was very brief. He didn’t know Hayai or Julius’s vice captain let alone their three rear captains. But the Venator Society deals with the whole world so it makes sense they’re not always around.

  “That’s a lot of people I don’t know!” Yuko laughed proudly, “Except for Hayai-Chan those are all new names.”

  “If Hayai heard you call him that he’d hold you down and shave your head bald.” Jin said with a wry smile which Yuko seemed to shutter at biting her nails.

  “If you must know, and I am forced to agree that at this point it’s pointless to withhold information for the sake of protection, then the Edoland branch of the Venator Society will have the following members joining. Vice Captain, Amabata Byakuto and Vice Captain Soga Kusurisuke, Rear Captain Gashadokuro Honetarou, Rear Captain Takuyama Naori, Rear Captain Ubaru Yuko, Rear Captain Kawaki Kouzou and Rear Captain Goji Rikidou.” Nordon said without pause or taking a breath.

  Kanashis head swirled at that list of names, only one of which he knew other than Yuko of course, that of Naori. “Is Otsuga Sensei not gonna join?” He asked, raising his hand.

  “Unfortunately Otsuga-Sensei is still suffering from his injuries and has requested to be excluded from this mission.” Nordon said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

  “Oh, I see…” Kanashi frowned, even if he was a monster Otsuga Miyagami the God Of Karate was still an elderly man at the end of the day and the Izumika Incident was surely the most action he’d seen in a decade. It made sense then that he’d be out of commission for quite a while even with Naoris healing magic.

  “!”

  Having thought of the Izumika Incident and realizing something, Kanashi jumped up out of his seat and looked at Jin, his eyes lit up. “Jin! I have a favor to ask!” He yelled out with a wide smile.

  “Oh well, sure I guess what is it?” Jin asked with a raised brow and frown.

  # # #

  “Disgusting.” Jin growled between grit teeth as he saw the large open gash in Kanashis side, one which would not heal seemingly no matter what anyone had tried to do. A wound he’d been given by Kageki Satoshi's blade, Tsubashinai or better known as the Samasura blade, one of the 12 legendary blades from Edoland.

  “You don’t need to be so mean about it.” Kanashi frowned at Jin's remark, surely it wasn’t pretty to look at being a large open gash but still it was quite rude to say aloud even if it was only Kanashi and Jin present in the room. Before Jin agreed to heal Kanashi, Nordon proposed they iron out a few more details as a group such as meeting locations and ways of communication before everyone departed. The only one still waiting behind was Kenji sitting outside the door for Jin. Akatora having told Kanashi to meet him in his office when he was done. So in the crude makeshift meeting room Jin and Kanashi were alone. Jins breathe tickling Kanashis skin which crawled from being looked at so intently.

  “Yeah, this is pretty bad~” Jin hummed, standing up straight and reaching into his pants pocket.

  Kanashi, still holding his shirt up to show his bare stomach looked down more closely at his torso and was surprised to see just how well defined it had become, while he’d not yet achieved the body he hoped to have he was surprisingly well built. The outline of abs visible under the lighting with bits of insertions on his squared chest and ribs rippling under his flesh. He’d always been on the rather thinner size, there’d been times where he’d got a bit rounder but never enough to be considered “fat”, if there was one thing he shared with his brother Frairk it was thankfully the high metabolism. Though Kanashi had been warned of his blood work coming back too high in sodium and sugar with the threat of diabetes which had made him quit his soda habit for a while.

  Returning to the present Jin pulled out from his pocket a small pen sized scroll, one which looked like a lint roller in appearance.

  “Is that a healing scroll?” Kanashi asked. Naori had already tried to use his healing and while he wasn’t as good as Cao-Li he was still no slouch.

  “Sure is.” Jin nodded, leaning down once again looking eye level with Kanashis stomach. “I have to make sure to heal this right after I get rid of… this thing.” Jin's tone dropped with that final bit his face contorting in disgust

  “How come you keep saying it’s so gross? You’re hurting my feelings here ya know.” Kanashi joked with a weak smile.

  “This is [Hakai], a technique made by Murlock himself to deal with beings made of Celestial Aura. To create Hakai he took normal mana which a mortal would have and inverted it, think of it like turning a bag inside out except on a metaphysical level, something only someone like him could have come up with. By inverting the mana it becomes far more violent and dangerous, especially to those with Celestial Aura or the Holy race.”

  “That doesn’t explain why you think it’s ugly.” Kanahsi frowned. “You’re just trying to flex your knowledge to me.”

  “I was getting there.” Jin growled, flicking Kanashi on the stomach who jumped with a yelp, a small bruise appearing where the attack had happened. “To me with my [Pure Eyes] I can see just how nasty [Hakai] is, how unnatural…”

  “What does it look like?” Kanashi asked, tilting his head to the side.

  “... Imagine a corpse, a week aged in the summer sun bloated by swamp water, infested with maggots and roaches which crawl from every orifice on its body the stench enough to make your vision blur and ears ring… that’s how I would describe how disgusting this [Hakai] is.”

  Kanashi swallowed sourly at the description, he felt dirty for not only having something like that on him but being embedded into his flesh and soul. “You can get rid of it though, right?” He asked with a bit of a shake in his voice.

  “Hm? Oh, yeah of course no problemo.” Jin shrugged. Taking his hand and pushing it against the open wound on Kanashis side he channeled within his hand a large amount of his blood red crimson aura, the same shade as his eyes.

  “!”

  A burning pain struck Kanashi who grit his teeth with a grunt, the open wound burned, it hurt bad enough to make him almost collapse to the floor but he held firm, his breathing increasing and hands tremblings he tried to bare through the pain which had only lasted no longer than 3 seconds before vanishing.

  “And there~” Jin hummed, wiping his hands off with a handkerchief he’d pulled from his coat pocket.

  “That was kinda easy-!”

  When Kanashi looked down he saw the gashing wound having turned into a large crooked scar which stretched up from his hip to above his belly button almost. Jin having also applied the [Healing Scroll] to it. “That was fast.” He muttered.

  “When it comes to healing others, Cao-Li beats me.” Jin smiled with a huff, “But trust me these aren’t easy to get so we can’t use them too freely.” He said, showing off the now withered and blackened scroll which he’d used to heal Kanashi.

  “Actually, Jin, why did the [Hakai] affect me then? I’m not a Holy nor do I have a Celestial lineage right?” Kanashi asked.

  Jin frowned at the question and looked up to the roof for a moment, scratching the back of his head, his brow furrowed.

  “I dunno.” He said with a shrug finally.

  “Oh.” Kanashi muttered with a frown. “I thought if anyone knew it would be you.”

  “Even I don’t know everything there is in the world, even if I wish I did.” Jin laughed, patting Kanashi on the shoulder as the two left the room.

  I always rewrite characters' Kanji names before I introduce them, especially older names which I made when I knew less Kanji.

  Sometimes I want to go back and change characters names to something else, Hayai 早井for example but I won’t, not yet I can still resist!

  Anyways It’s been a while since I wrote out all the Kanji and their meaning so here’s a quick refresher and an introduction to a few new names.

  [剛姿仂胴] Goji Rikidou - “Sturdy Form” and “Surplus Torso” the last part his given name being a pun I thought was funny.

  [僧我薬助] Soga Kusurisuke - The first Kanji means “Buddhist monk” and the 2nd “Ego” or “The Self” Kusurisuke is spelt with the Kanji for “Medicine” and “Help.” The Soga Clan are actually a clan which is as noble birth as the Hojo and Soutou, when it comes to descending from the Royal Lineage Directly, however the Soga fell out of favor before the Hokunan war and have been Grade 2 ever since. At some point I’m gonna have to sit down and just dump out all of the Edoland lore huh? I have so much of it, anyways I can’t wait to write him in action. I have so many cool ideas!

  [雨蝗柏刀] Amabatta Byakuto - “Rain Locust” and “Oak Sword”

  [蛾紗毒狼骨太郎] Gashadokuro Honetarou - His name is very long and abit complex but basically Gashadokuro is a giant human eating skeleton monster yokai but I spelt it with different characters. Being “Moth” “Gauze” “Poison” and “Wolf” with his first name Honetarou being spelt with “Bone” and “Tarou” a generic male name suffix. He’s another character who has a scene I cannot wait to write out!

  [川海鮫増] Kawaikai Kouzou - “River Sea” and “Shark gain”

  [乙画宮神] Otsuga Miyagami - Not much thought or meaning in his surnames spelling I just like the kanji 乙. His name Miyagami is spelt for “Shrine” and “God”.

  [沢山治力] Takuyama Naori - the first kanji 沢 in the modern sense is used to mean a swamp or bog but it’s archaic usage was used to mean “Grace” or “blessing” Yama meaning Mountain so “Blessing Mountain” And Naori is for “Healing Strength” Really on the nose with that one wasn’t I?

  [兎原遊子] Ubara Yuko - A really cute girly sounding name, Her surname meaning “Rabbit field” and her first name being “Playing Girl” as in playing a game. Though it can also mean “traveler” or “wanderer” too apparently.

  [献身野路敦] Tatematsumi Nordon - The first two Kanji for his surname mean “Devotion” and his first name are composed of 3 kanji for “Rustic Path” and “Industry” or “Kindness” The last Kaji was spelt 丼 in his first appearance which means “Bowl of food” and I changed it recently for the better, okay maybe I can’t control myself sometimes! His father took the name “Tatematsumi” upon moving to Edoland from Krigahem his original surname being Hackenbergh so technically Nordons name would be Nordon Hackenbergh in the western order.

  [平視赤虎] Taishi Akatora - The first 2 for Taishi his surname means to “See Peace” while his first name Akatora is Red Tiger. I mentioned it before but the Taishi are a very low ranking noble house, being one step above commoner, their clan founded by the Samurai turned warlord [平視平剛之助] Taishi Hyogonosuke. Though Akatora is from a split off branch so more like distant cousins of the actual Taishi family. Kinda like how not every “Washington” or “Lincoln” is related to the president directly.

  [平視紅竜] Taishi Beniise - He has the same surname as his father of course and his first name means “Crimson Dragon” as in the Eastern Dragon. In Eastern folklore, especially Chinese, the Dragon and Tiger are each other's only rivals in raw power. So it’s a nice inside reference.

  [雄日用進] Ohi Yoshin - One of the those names I wish I could tweak just a little bit. The first Kanji means “Masculine” and the 2nd “Day” His first name Yoshin is for “Advance Business.” which I just don’t think fits his character. But not everyone looks like what their name is right?

  [楰好捻丸] Gyokou Nejimaru - His name is another one I like. The first Kanji is for “tree” but the way I spelt it meaning “Gyo” is also a way to say Sakana 魚 which means fish. So he loves fish! His first name Nejimaru is to “play with a ball” like cats do with yarn. Now something to note is that Jin’s [Pure Eyes] do not give him access to the ability to see blessing themselves, he can see if someone has one or not but not what the blessing is or even what type he can only infer, and he inferred correctly that Nejimaru has the bestial mutation blessing of a House Cat. Poor guy.

  [黒筆蜥腹] Kokofude Sekihara - The first two kanji are for “Black Brush” and the 2nd pair for his first name mean “Lizard” and “Stomach.” I like the way his name sounds.

  [花血羅雪 ] Hanachi Rasetsu - Her surname Hanachi is spelt with “Flower Blood” while her given name is “Silk Snow” but Rasetsu are also men eating women demons in some buddhist lore. Sorta like Syrens mixed with Amazons.

  [戦刃検士] Tatakayaiba Kenji - His surname means “Battle Blade” while his first name is “Swordsman.” His original name was [俗下百常] Zokuga Todotsune. The kanji mean “Mundane, Lower / common, 100 and Eternal / Ordinary” so quite a bit to his name but I mean for it to be something like “Eternal Mundane Lower Existence.”

  [覇壊] Hakai - I just realized I never said what the Kanji for Hakai is right? Well it’s 覇壊 meaning “Conquerors Destruction” And the world Hakai itself when spelt as 破壊 means “destruction”