Ichikaen Honomoto

Creator:
Madrigal

Nationality:
American

Age:
17

Gender:
Male

Appearance:
Ichikaen is a Japanese-American student of average height, his body well-toned from years of sports and practicing martial arts. The boy has a chiseled face, unblemished save for the odd scrape from his various sports. In the center of his face are two bright green eyes, almost light yellow in hue, similar to the eye of an eagle. Most notable about the boy however is his bright red hair, usually clipped into the latest style endorsed by the cool and trendy young celebrities of the California coast. His hair seems to brighten and wane depending upon his mood. The boy swears he's a natural redhead.

Clothing:
Ichi wears a variety of clothing, but can usually be seen in his school uniform, typically with his jacket and collar unbuttoned. Outside classes, he can usually be seen either in his school track outfit or in loose designer clothes. T-shirts, loose dress shirts, jeans, ornaments and the like. No matter where he goes however he can usually has near him a black, dark green and golden letter jacket, the image of a golden phoenix emblazoned on the back under the words ‘Yoshida Legends'. On the front by his left breast is his name. He usually wears a set of running shoes, though when he is trying to be more formal, he will occasionally wear dress shoes. He finds these quite uncomfortable.

Personality:
Ichikaen gives the impression of being the ultimate school jock. Captain of the Track and Field Team for two years, a hardworking student, and the most desired boyfriend in Yoshida High.

In actual fact, all of this means virtually nothing to him.

Ichikaen (or ‘Ichi' to his friends) is a very warm, charismatic individual, with a deep abiding love for his friends. He will readily try anything from sports to a garage band if it means having fun with his friends. This attitude has brought in a close, warm cloister of fellow students his age. Ichikaen is well known and quite popular for his athletic prowess, as well as his willingness to help other people across campus. Despite never making a ‘C' grade or lower since primary school, Ichi isn't the brightest student in the school. He can be a bit of a hothead at times, and will quickly grow stubborn if presented with an obstacle or ultimatum, continuing to hammer at and think on a problem regardless of the consequences. When he makes a choice, he seldom backs out of it either, holding the opinion that a bad decision wholeheartedly embraced is better than a wiser one accepted half-heartedly. His attitude has given him the chance to learn new skills and improve himself, but also gets him into trouble more often than not.

Despite his popularity among his classmates, Ichi has his fair share of inadequacies. He can't stand feeling alone, or like he has let his friends down, and has willingly put himself in harm’s way to help them. His most pressing desire in life is his hope to one day meet his one true love, and his greatest doubt is that he will spend the rest of his life looking for her.

Background:
Born in Spokane Washington, Ichi was the firstborn child of a former flower shop owner and Colonel Honomoto, “The Blazing Phoenix". As a boy, the family moved from place to place while his father was off on assignments. The colonel was not a gentle father, and enforced a strict physical and academic schedule on his son. As his mother grew pregnant with her second child soon after his eleventh birthday however, the colonel decided it would be best for the family to settle someplace permanent while he was away. He moved the family to Anaheim, enrolling Ichi in a prestigious school known as Yoshida School for Academic Studies. The boy quickly stood out at the school for his bright hair and odd eyes. Ichi, always willing to make a friend however, warmly introduced himself to the others. His reception was mixed until he was greeted by a childhood friend he had virtually forgotten about from Spokane. She quickly helped him get settled in, and Ichi’s personality soon won him the friendship of his new classmates. School proceeded as normal until Ichi reached his junior year. Now the track captain and a well-regarded athlete, Ichi began to notice the rise of a gang from northern California in Yoshida, the Scorpions. Though the school did its best to keep them out, a couple neighboring schools had swelling gang problems as well. Disgusted with the problem, Ichi assembled his fellow athletes, proposing to set up a gang of their own to fend off the intruders. Despite their rivals' superior funding, the Legends Gang managed to push the Scorpions out of suburban Anaheim, thanks in no small part to Ichi's leadership, as well as a second ability of his. Unfortunately, their good luck could not last long. The Scorpions captured a handful of Legends in retaliation, holding them captive at their headquarters, an affluent town house. Ichi and a handful of volunteers snuck into the house and freed the prisoners before they were surrounded by the Scorpions. The Legends managed to leap onto the roof of a neighboring house, leaving Ichi to protect their escape. Lacking any recourse, Ichi waited until the Scorpions stormed the building to reveal his hidden talent. The Scorpions stormed into the master bedroom where the Legends had escaped from, only to find the weary boy standing in the middle of an ornate seal of blood. With a smile, he placed his hands onto the center of the seal, causing it to flare to life.

It took the Anaheim Fire Department four hours to put out the blaze, despite the efforts of eight fire engines. Soon after, the city police investigated the fire, finding enough evidence in the meantime to jail every high and middle-ranked member of the Scorpions. The court ruled there was no evidence of an arson, despite the immense fistfight that took place beforehand, or reports of a man in burning clothes fleeing the scene of the incident.

Talents/Skills/Capabilities:
Ichi has spent a fair portion of his life sneaking around his father just to irritate the old man. As such, Ichi is fairly skilled at sneaking when he needs to be. His time spent on military bases and in the Legends-Scorpions gang war has also made him reasonably skilled at the use and maintenance of firearms, especially pistols and submachine guns. Ichi is also a master martial artist, holding a blackbelt in Karate since he was still in elementary school and one in Tae Kwon Do since Sophomore year in school

Inventory:
One duffle bag filled with clothes, one baseball bat, one switchblade knife

Powers:
Ichikaen possesses the ability to create fiery glyphs out of his blood and hair, and seems able to ignite them with a touch of his hand. These glyphs can range in power and abilities, from a small flickering flame to a massive bonfire. In addition, standing near fire heals the boy, and he is immune to the effects of flames or extreme heat. This includes beams of intense light such as lasers. Though Ichi claims this is the extent of his powers, his friend Makoto suspects Ichi's powers may grow more formidable with time, and has convinced Ichi, despite the latters protests, to transfer to the Academy, in order to be safe while he expands his powers. His powers are magical.

Weaknesses:
Ichi is perfectly human, despite his ability to ‘absorb' fire, and can still be killed by ordinary men. Further, while heat may heal him, objects lodged in him (such as bullets) will remain lodged in his body despite his flesh repairing himself. Ichi's abilities are entirely dependant upon his access to his blood or hair.

Sample:
From the shadow of the mansion on the outskirts of suburban Anaheim, a figure in black garb watched as the Scorpions gathered in front of the homestead. They were ready to storm the building, but he knew it would be pointless. The figure of another teen in green leaped from the balcony of the mansion to the neighboring house. He paid them no heed. They were irrelevant. A bunch of jumped-up kids wanting to play hero. What mattered was the voice that told them they were heroes. What mattered was the one among them who was actually special.

“Now Koga! Go!’

The figure straightened from the shadows he had been hiding in. With uncanny agility he jumped onto the wall and using the crevasses between the bricks began to climb spider-like up the side. Ichikaen had just rose from the ground, tightening a dirty bandage around his left hand, when Koga vaulted over the opposite side, directly in his path.

"My name is Koga," said black-haired teenager, laying a hand on the katana strapped to his back. "I would prefer not to harm such an extraordinary individual as yourself, Ichikaen. But I cannot allow you to continue your efforts against us. If you surrender, I will grant you a quick and merciful death. If you resist, I will cut you until you can no longer walk."

Ichikaen rose, an unconscious smile rising to the corner of his face.. He enjoyed being told he was 'extraordinary'. But he had a job to finish. He had to cover his friends’ retreat.

"In that case..." He said, keeping his eyes on Koga. "I'll have to perform a fighting retreat!" He pulled a wooden bokken sword from his back and swung. Koga countered with his own sword, stopping the practice blade against his steel katana. Ichi's left hand however drew a knife and slashed that at Koga, who leapt to the side.

"Sorry about that."

Ichi sneered as he lashed his leg out, sending Koga leaping backwards to avoid his leg. Koga lashed out with his blade again, before the switch-blade rose to block his attack. Ichi smiled at the deflected attack.

"You know what Koga? We should be friends." Ichi leapt backward, trying to put a little swinging room between him and his adversary. The ninja sensed weakness, charging ahead as he pressed the attack. He made another stab lunge forward, one which was just barely deflected by Ichikaen's knife. Koga continued to press forward with a series of quick blows with his katana, pressing Ichikaen back towards the center of the room. Ichikaen was more than able to keep up with the assault, but the frequency of Koga's slashes made it impossible for him to counterattack. Ichi’s bokkin was starting to show its wear, long gashes appearing in the pine shaft as it struggled pitifully against the steel weapon. With a sudden quick thrust, the weapon cut into Ichi’s leg, slicing cleanly along the flesh of his leg, forcing him to drop to one knee. Ichi raised his bokkin again to block the incoming attack, before the katana slashed cleanly through his weapon, sending the two pine shafts onto either side. The blade rose, running along Ichi’s neck, as he glared defiantly at the victor.

“Your last words?”

“Three.” Ichi said, giving the ninja a cocky smile. “Go to Hell.”

The boy slammed his hand down, the bandaged hand slamming onto the floor. Koga’s eyes widened. A seal of red blood stood in the center of the room, ornately and meticulously prepared. In his haste to kill the boy, Koga had failed to notice it. He pulled his blade back, in a futile attempt to behead the boy, before the red seal flared to life. Koga screamed as the flames consumed him, even as the flames spread to consume the room. The boy rose, the flames licking harmlessly at his clothes as his bloody bandage fell away. Koga screeched, racing for the balcony in a wild panic before he fell over the side, disappearing from sight as he fell. Ichi watched for a moment, until the sound of shouts from the lower floor reached his ears. He strolled to the balcony, ignoring his flaming clothes before he leaped towards the neighboring house and out of sight.