Post by Ito Ittosai on Oct 23, 2010 16:17:16 GMT -5
Assassin
"Even though I don't look like much, it would be a mistake to underestimate me."
"Even though I don't look like much, it would be a mistake to underestimate me."
OTHER ALIAS: //[/color]Ito Yagoro, the Smiling Saint of Murderers.
CURRENT AGE: //[/color]25
YEAR OF BIRTH://[/color]1560
GENDER://[/color] Male
ALIGNMENT://[/color] Variant Neutral/Chaotic Evil
OCCUPATION://[/color] Swordsman, Servant
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HEIGHT: //[/color] 5'7
WEIGHT: //[/color] 160
EYE COLOR: //[/color] Black
HAIR COLOR: //[/color] Black
PIERCINGS: //[/color] None
TATTOOS: //[/color] None
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: //[/color] Cyan kimono
[/size][/ul] [/blockquote]
- Charming and agreeable
- On the surface, Ito is exactly this. A polite, pleasant-to-be-around young man who is always seen smiling. He doesn't like interjecting himself into situations, and likes to stay out of the spotlight. He almost always refuses an invitation to fight, even if an encounter ends up as such.
He can come off as sharp in a conversation, though not in a smart ass, know-it-all kind of way. He's very casual and loose to his friends, and is known for lending an ear to people who just want to talk.
Even though he has his own opinions about things, he likes to keep them to himself. He seems to be satisfied with his Master (whoever that may be) and follows all of his/her commands without hesitation. If he is scolded or messes up, he simply smiles and apologizes.
His greatest fear is being asked to sing, because he sounds like a woman when he does.
- On the surface, Ito is exactly this. A polite, pleasant-to-be-around young man who is always seen smiling. He doesn't like interjecting himself into situations, and likes to stay out of the spotlight. He almost always refuses an invitation to fight, even if an encounter ends up as such.
- Vagabond Sword
- Ito Ittosai was known as a wandering swordsman who never gave up the sword. While other Sword Saints, such as Miyamoto Musasshi, achieved enlightenment through the Way of the Sword, and began living a peaceful life free of violence, Ito would always be a swordsman who slew many people up to the very end of his life.
He is a man who could not find peace in his lifetime, a restless spirit who's hands itch whenever he see a serious duel. To Ito Ittosai, there is no such thing as a friendly spar. Every fight is a fight to the death. This is one of the reasons why he might refuse a duel; he is not afraid of his opponent, he is afraid of what he might do to the opponent.
Even though he faced many hardships in his life, there are times when he misses being a Vagabond. To be a free-wandering swordsman, and not be tied down by Lords or houses, was very liberating. A part of him wishes to wander the new, modern world just as he did during his own time period. However, due to this life style, he's also prone to bouts of loneliness because he had very little chances to get close to anyone, since he's always wandering.
- Ito Ittosai was known as a wandering swordsman who never gave up the sword. While other Sword Saints, such as Miyamoto Musasshi, achieved enlightenment through the Way of the Sword, and began living a peaceful life free of violence, Ito would always be a swordsman who slew many people up to the very end of his life.
- Smiling Saint of Murderers
- To call Ito Ittosai a Sword Saint is extremely ironic.
Though his is a name that faded off into obscurity in the faces of more famous swordsmen of his time, the legend of Ito Ittosai says that he never once lost a duel in his life. And there were plenty of them.
It is said that when Ito Ittosai enters a serious duel, his body goes limp, and his hands start to tremble so hard that the sword they're holding quivers with them. A gentle smile starts to creep across his face. His mind is purged of all thoughts, except for one word chanting over and over. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill...
Mentally, if he were ever to fight, this agreeable young man turns into a killing machine, who's sole purpose becomes to brutally slaughter his target. There were some times of peace in his life where he would grow restless, and even rent himself out to the wars and battles of the time as a nameless ronin in order to satisfy his blood lust. He would kill anyone who raised a weapon against him, be them men, women, or children.
- To call Ito Ittosai a Sword Saint is extremely ironic.
- Inferior
- Like many famous samurai during his time, Ito Ittosai spent all his life developing a master sword technique that would inspire several schools of Kenjutsu after his death. This technique was called Musoken, or "the no thought sword." However, this wasn't merely a technique that he developed through time and experience, it was actually a psychic power that he had been born with. In fact, though he utilized it often during his younger days, he wouldn't be able to understand it or know what to call it until many years later, when he began to develop his own Kenjutsu school of thought.
In addition, he wields the Mikan Kyoshikyoku, a holy sword dedicated to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu, crafted by a nameless sword smith.
With that said, it's pretty strange that he would feel inferior to the other famous Japanese samurai of his time. However, because he relies on this power that even he doesn't understand, rather than battle honed experience and skill like the rest of his fellow Sword Saints, Ito feels like he cheated to become famous. Yes, it was true that he was a master swordsman, but how much of it was really him, and how much was this Musoken?
He doesn't feel like he lives up to his own reputation. Often, when conversing with other heroes, he'll state that he's a fake that isn't worth fighting. This also affects his mentality in social situations, like dating.
- Like many famous samurai during his time, Ito Ittosai spent all his life developing a master sword technique that would inspire several schools of Kenjutsu after his death. This technique was called Musoken, or "the no thought sword." However, this wasn't merely a technique that he developed through time and experience, it was actually a psychic power that he had been born with. In fact, though he utilized it often during his younger days, he wouldn't be able to understand it or know what to call it until many years later, when he began to develop his own Kenjutsu school of thought.
LIKES://[/color] Wandering, swords, plants, animals, fruit, old Japanese stuff, duels, blood.
DISLIKES: //[/color] Noisy places, crowds, people who hurt animals, duels.
STRENGTHS: //[/color] It is said that Ito Ittosai was a swordsman who never in his lifetime lost a duel. He was a master swordsman in every sense.
Like Sasaki Kojiro and Li Shu Wen, he is an Assassin class who is deadly in combat and can fight extremely well.
He developed his own unique style, one that would become the basis for modern swordsmanship, Itto-ryu "The art of One Sword." The mentality is that it only takes one sword strike to finish someone.
What Ito lacks in strength, he makes up for in versatility and combat ingenuity. His style is grounded and down-to-earth, taking advantage of basic kenjutsu components like distancing, timing and rhythm, and targeting of an opponents vital points, all things that future descendants of his style would incorporate.
When it comes to swordsmanship, he's nothing short of a genius. If you give him the opportunity, he can easily reverse a losing situation, and turn his opponents' strength into a weakness in the blink of an eye.
His swordsmanship talent, Musoken, is one that he perfected using the entirety of his life. A psychic talent that he was born with by sheer chance, it allows Ito to predict his opponents movements with incredible accuracy and devise an impossible attack or defense in split-second time. This, combined with the holy sword, Mikan Kyoshikyoku, makes it plain why it is said he has never lost a duel.
WEAKNESSES: //[/color] Does a man who is said to have never in his lifetime lost a fight have any weaknesses? Of course he does!
He starts to get a one-track mind when he fights, and this can be a huge disadvantage. If he somehow gets distracted or if a duel gets interrupted, his mental state is broken, and he will have to retreat. Therefore, this Assassin class Servant operates best in one-on-one duels in a bamboo grove without any chance interruptions.
If we had to pick an attribute weakness, he's not very strong against enemies who use a lot of magic in their attacks. In other words, this Servant is a poor choice for attacking Casters and other magic-powered Servants by himself. When fighting Casters and the like, it's best to stick with the traditional Assassin strategy of taking out the Master instead, or create a situation where the Caster has to fight Ito one on one, without magic.
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MY LEGEND: //[/color]
www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=370
www.ling.helsinki.fi/~kjokinen/Publ/200504JapaneseSwords.pdf
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%C5%8D_Itt%C5%8Dsai
MY HISTORY: //[/color]
A long time passed before he could open his eyes.
In the mean time, the world was blurry and dark. Black splotches mixed with red, colliding like stars and exploding in the back of his eyes. Splashing crimson onto darkness. Dead, dead, dead...
It was raining. He could feel the rain. He could still feel.
There were figures approaching in the far distance. Or was it really that far?
He could make out a hand, featureless and blotchy. Barely a hand. It reached out to him. He wanted to go, but his body wouldn't move. It was cold and hard and moist, like a wet towel wrapped around a stone.
A voice called to him.
"Yagoro..."
No. It wasn't calling. It was screaming.
the voice was familiar. It registered in his mind as a voice he knew.
Was that...his mother?
***
When Yagoro opened his eyes.
All he could see was white. Then, slowly, white turned to blue, and he was surrounded by it.
He was in the middle of the ocean, floating on a piece of driftwood.
His body was wet and cold. He couldn't feel anything. He wasn't even sure he was breathing.
There was no sign of his mother.
In the distance was an island. Yagoro couldn't tell how far it really was. He couldn't tell if he was floating toward it or away.
Darkness unexpectedly snuck up on him again and surrounded his vision. He went back to sleep.
***
When he woke up again, he was much more lively.
He shot up out of bed, his every breath weighing a ton. His mind was aching. He put a hand on his head and felt sweat.
He saw her face. His mothers' face?
He looked out the window and saw it was raining outside. Storming.
He didn't know where he was or what had happened, and yet, he was surprisingly calm.
No, something was wrong. This was not his home. He got the sense that he was very, very far away from the place he called home.
There was a flash of lightning, and his mind was seized with pain. Ito Yagoro put his head underneath the covers and fell back asleep.
***
It wasn't until morning, the next day, when he would finally discover what happened.
They said, right before the storm hit the island of Oshima, a young boy drifted across the Sasagami Bay onto the shore, where the local fishermen found him.
That was what the old woman told him. After saying that, she left without another word.
Ito Yagoro would spend much of his years in this quite fishing village that was hostile to outsiders.
They had only taken him in because they pitied him. In reality, they looked upon him with disdain. They were old-fashioned and ignorant, and fearful. It was the Warring States period in Japan. They had heard tales of the battles and wars raging through the country, and wanted nothing to do with them. An outsider might bring unnecessary strife to their peaceful village. It was for this reason that they treated Yagoro like a time bomb, waiting to explode when they least expected it.
They gave Yagoro the job of taking care of the shrine a distance away from the village, so that he would stay out of trouble. It was also his home, and he was to care and fend for himself. He was only allowed to come into the village to get food and water.
It was an extremely lonely life. As lonely as when he was lost as sea, drifting on a plank of wood, far away from the things he knew and loved. And when he went to sleep, he would have horrible dreams of his mother reaching out to him, screaming his name.
He was a boy who had lost everything, and he didn't even know why.
But, one day, a traveling merchant passed by the shrine. He was a vendor of art, and he tried to coerce Yagoro into buying some of his prints.
Yagoro became fascinated with them. They depicted warriors from long ago, great men standing on battlefields. Spear in hand, swords brandished, flying across fields on horses. Yagoro wanted to buy them all. But he had no money.
The vendor himself became fascinated with Yagoro. He told him that, in exchange for his story, he would give him three of his paintings. Yagoro could even choose which ones he wanted.
So Yagoro told him his story, and the vendor listened. It was the first time anyone looked at him with sympathetic eyes since he arrived on the island.
When he was done, the vendor kept his word and let Yagoro have any three paintings he desired.
The first was a portrait of two men standing in full samurai armor, turning their heads and looking at something. A large tree trunk curved vertically up the portrait, and pink sakura petals fell gently passed their line of vision.
Yagoro asked who these men were, and the vendor replied that they were Minamoto no Yoshitsu and his faithful retainer, Benki the warrior monk.
As it seemed Yagoro had never heard of the legend, the vendor regaled him with the tale Minamoto no Yoshitsu and Benki, the warrior monk before he even had a chance to ask.
When he was done, Yagoro chose a second portrait.
It was one depicting what seemed to be a great battle, with people crowded closely together, weapons drawn. It was colorful and wild. Off to the side, there was a carriage being drawn by several men in loincloths. There was a man in the carriage, looking at the battle. It seemed the portrait was split in two.
The vendor told Yagoro that this was a portrait depicting Go-Shirakawa, the 77th Emperor of Japan, escaping an angry mob after his retirement. And then the vendor told Yagoro of the tale.
The last portrait that Yagoro picked was by far the one that captivated him most. It was a simple ink portrait, with no color, of a figure on horseback. The horse was rearing up, and the fully armored figure was swinging a naginata. The beautiful face was that of a woman. Yes, black and white or color, no matter what artist, the face would still be beautiful.
The vendor told him that this was Tomoe Gozen, the legendary Onna bugeisha. And he told Yagoro her tale.
After the vendor left, Yagoro stared hard at each of the portraits that he had been given. They were the only things that decorated the walls of the old shrine that no one visited anymore.
For the first time since he washed up on the shores of Oshima, he felt something surge inside him. He felt like he had a purpose.
He wanted to become a swordsman. A great samurai, like the people depicted in these three portraits.
His name would be known throughout all of Japan.
Immediately, Yagoro ran out of the shine, found a fallen branch about the size of a sword, and began swinging it.
He would swing sticks for days, trying as best he could to replicate his guess of swordsmanship. The villagers laughed when Yagoro declared he would become a great swordsman. They were spiteful that he would think of bringing swordsmanship, a tool of war, to the village.
But even though the jeers and scorn of the people surrounding him, Yagoro swung his sticks faithfully.
Then, one day, a group of bandits began harassing the village. There were only six of them, but they could recognize the fear in the residents when they saw their swords. It was easy to fight people if they feared you.
The bandits declared that they were going to rule the village from then on. Not a single person stood up to challenge that claim.
Then, the boy who mysteriously washed up on the shore stepped forward. Armed with only a wooden pole, he challenged the bandits to a duel.
But he was still too innocent and lacked experience. Instead of a duel, the bandits came at him all at once, their swords flashing through the air. Yagoro realized that he had made a grave mistake, but he stood his ground. For some reason, he was extremely calm.
Then, all of a sudden, as the first bandit's sword propelled it's way toward his throat, darkness shrouded his vision once again.
At first, Yagoro thought, 'ah, I must have died.' But then he started to feel peculiar. His body was cold, but it was moving. It was moving, but he wasn't telling it to move. His mind was totally empty and he couldn't see. It was as if something took hold of him, and was controlling him like a puppet on strings. He had no idea what he was doing or how he was doing it.
When the darkness receded from his eyes, Yagoro was shocked at the new scene. All the bandits were lying on the ground, bloodied and broken. One of them looked as if he was dead.
The pole he was holding was covered in blood and the end had broken off.
He stood there stock still for what felt like hours.
Then, a loud cry from behind him broke the silence, and all of a sudden Yagoro was lost in the cheers and happy arms of the villagers who had been watching.
After that incident, Yagoro was no longer an outsider in the village. They regarded him as a hero, and he was welcome to live and eat where ever and what ever he wanted. Nobody mocked him and he always received warm looks from everyone. And he practiced swordsmanship every day.
Then, when Yagoro was eighteen, the villagers gathered around the shrine and gave him a present.
They said that they were still eternally grateful for when he defended the village from those bandits long ago.
"Because of you, the village can remain peaceful for the rest of it's days. Once, we saw you as an outsider. But if you hadn't washed up on the beach all those years ago, no one would've defended us from the bandits. We would've been forever under the thumb of those murderers."
So, ever since that day, the village people had been saving money for when Yagoro seemed old enough to leave the village and travel on his own. They wanted him to find a school that could teach him swordsmanship, so that he could realize his dream of becoming a legendary samurai.
Yagoro was overcome with emotion. He thanked everyone thousands of times over.
The next day, he packed what little possessions he had. A wooden bokken, food from the villagers, and the three portraits the vendor had given him all those years ago.
Then, after saying heartfelt good byes, Ito Yagoro left the peaceful fishing village of Oshima.
He would never return.
***
Ito Yagoro traveled for several days. He was young, and had never traveled before, so he faced many hardships. He ran out out of food faster than he thought, he could not sleep for fear of wild animals, and he injured himself many times on stray roots and uneven paths.
But eventually, through sheer force of will, Yagoro came to the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu, the most important and spiritual shrine in Kamakura.
He stayed there for weeks, practicing his swordsmanship and praying to the Gods to help him find a school that could teach him. Even though he had journeyed far, and made a fervent effort of advertising himself, for some reason, not one swordsmanship school would take the poor boy into it's ranks.
His weary soul finally pushed to the limit, Yagoro decided that if he couldn't find one school in Kamakura that would take him in, he would travel back to the village and forget about becoming a great swordsman.
On his last night staying in Kamakura, Yagoro went once again to pray at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu. Not to find a great teacher, but for a safe journey back to the village. It was than that he noticed a new addition to the shrine.
It was an ornate, miniature shrine all on it's own, and mounted in the center was a katana in a shirasaya. It was obviously a holy sword that had just arrived.
The writing on the side of the shirasaya read "Mikan Kyoshikyoku."
Yagoro was entranced by it. It was obviously a mystical blade of extraordinary power. He had heard that, earlier today, a sword smith had visited the shrine. Could he have crafted this?
The sword seemed to lull Yagoro into a trance. It smelled strongly, but pleasantly, of tangerines. He forgot all about his hardships and weariness.
He bowed and said a prayer in respect and thanks for the good spirit of the blade.
As he was praying, all of a sudden, in a split-second, he grabbed the sword from it's mounting, drew the blade, and slashed it through the air in one swift motion.
This time he didn't loose consciousness, he could see clearly. He saw an enormous amount of blood spill from a vague figure.
Yagoro looked down in shock at the thief he had slain.
At first, he couldn't move. His body was trembling. The dead man had a knife in his hand.
His goal had been either to steal the holy sword, or rob Yagoro. Either way, Yagoro got the feeling the man would've killed him.
Not knowing what else to do, Yagoro turned and fled the scene before anyone else noticed what happened.
After fleeing a great distance from the shrine, Yagoro realized that he still held the sword in his hand.
But it felt like a different sword now.
Even though the blade was extremely powerful, it was meant to be a holy sword, that was never to taste blood. But Yagoro had tainted it with death, and it became evil. It no longer smelled of tangerines. It was an entirely new sword, totally unrecognizable from it's original form. Even the sword smith who crafted it wouldn't be able to recognize it.
So Yagoro was free of the fear that people would recognize the sword if he wore it on his belt. It was his sword, now.
After finding a sword smith who would give the sword a new hilt and sheath, Yagoro gathered his things and left Kamakura to continue his search for a school that would take him.
After many days of traveling, his luck finally changed when he met Kanemaki Jisai, the head of the Chujo-ryu school. Jisai, seeing the poor, ragged boy's determination, decided to take him and teach him everything he knew.
Yagoro was so grateful he took Jisai's feet and put his forehead to them in thanks. His training had finally begun.
He spent years at the Chujo-ryu dojo, but from the very start, he began to show signs of great promise and latent powers. He quickly surpassed the other students, who had been staying at the school since they were children, and became Jisai's favorite student.
But because of this, the other students became jealous and shunned him. Once again, he was alone and lonely.
It wasn't long, however, that he found a friend. The daughter of a local doctor.
Yagoro had actually been eying her for some time, but he never had the nerve to actually say something to her. It was only one day, after running into each other at the market, that they formally met. After that, a sort of romance ensued. She would wait for him at the gates of the school around noon time, and they would walk together and talk until well into the night. When he was with her, Yagoro was extremely happy. The loneliness and isolation he felt all his life seemed to be a thing far away in the past.
But this was short lived.
In reality, this girl was the lover of one of the older students of the school, who was Jisai's previous star pupil. He and some of the other students had become so jealous of Yagoro that they finally decided on an elaborate plot to kill him.
The final act went something like this: The girl moved to embrace Yagoro and pretend to declare her love for him. When Yagoro returned the embrace, the girl used a knife hidden in the sleeves of her kimono to stab him in the heart. Then the other boys lept out of the shadows, swords drawn, and slaughtered him.
This would come to pass on the last night Yagoro spent at the Chujo-ryu school.
That night, the girl declared her love and embraced him, and Yagoro felt so happy he felt as if his face would tear from smiling so much. He took his arms and pressed her against his body.
But then, something shifted in him. He was able to realize what it was, and what it meant.
His heart broke, and for the first time since he was a boy living at the shrine in Oshima, he cried. He cried but he was still smiling. When he felt the girl he loved so much go for the hidden knife, he smiled still.
His body moved of it's own accord. The familiar feeling of being a puppet on strings came to him. In a flash, he whipped out the Mikan Kyoshikyoku from it's sheath and, still smiling gently, slashed the girl's throat.
He was still smiling as the other boys came out of the shadows, blades drawn, and he slaughtered them all.
And as he killed them, memories started flowing back. Memories of his father, a merchant, and his ships.
Memories of his mother.
Of the pirate attack.
Of how, after killing his father and all the men, he and his mother were the only ones left. With shaking hands, he took a sword and pointed it at the nearest pirate.
When the pirates went to attack him, he killed them all.
But his mother had gotten in the way. He called his name, and in the excitement, he slashed out her throat.
Right before the explosion, time froze. He remembered her face, contorted with sudden pain. The life stolen from her eyes by his hands. Her lips still calling out his name, though the blood in her lungs choked out the words.
Back to the present.
Yagoro started at the bodies of his fellow students with empty eyes.
The girl he loved so much was bathing in something red coming out of her throat.
Ito Yagoro looked up at the sky. The starts were really brilliant that night, but there wasn't any moon.
There were tears in his eyes, but also a genuine, gentle smile. The kind of smile someone would have if they saw something that reminded them of a memory. For some reason, he couldn't stop smiling that smile.
His mind and his heart fell to pieces that night. This was his enlightenment.
***
The next day, Ito Yagoro changed his name to Ito Ittosai Kagehisa, and told his master that he was leaving the school, and that he had nothing more to teach him.
Kanemaki Jinsai was not a foolish man. He had heard earlier that day that some of his best students and a young girl that Ito had been seeing were murdered last night.
Jinsai challenged Ito to a duel, saying that, if Ito truly thought he had surpassed him, he would not lose.
A gentle smile crept across Ito's face, and he accepted.
They fought with wooden swords in the middle of the dojo, with all the students watching.
Jinsai, a master of the Chujo ryu, wasn't able to land a single blow on Ito Ittosai Kagehisa, and was knocked on his back.
After the second attempt, Jinsai realized what must've happened last night. By doing away with sanity and reason, Ito Ittosai had unlocked his latent powers, and achieved his full potential as a swordsman. It was impossible to defeat him now.
Ito Ittosai Kagehisa left the school without a word, leaving behind the possessions of Yagoro. The portraits he had received all those years ago from the vendor were forgotten and crumbled away to dust.
Ito Ittosai became known far and wide as a swordsman who had never lost a duel. His technique and skill became legendary. He mercilessly killed anyone who challenged him. It was said that every time he fought, a gentle, almost apologetic smile appeared on his face. When he started to feel his age, he began passing his swordsmanship on to others, taking apprentices and teaching his philosophy to those who wanted to become the best swordsmen in the land.
It is said he died alone, in a cave, after killing someone in a duel. Sitting up right on a cave wall, he cradled the Mikan Kyoshikyoku in his arms and thought about committing suicide on it. Never once in his life had he known the sting of a blade on his flesh. He had no scars on his body, even though he fought many duels and even wars. It was his greatest regret.
Then, during the twilight hour, Ito Ittosai died peacefully in his sleep, still cradling his Mikan Kyoshikyoku like a lover.
MY GOALS://[/color] To find someone who can finally give him a death by sword.
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A sword crafted by nameless sword smith, it was his only master work. It's quality is far beyond that of a normal sword, reaching mythical status. Therefore, it is near impossible to destroy as a weapon of a Heroic Spirit.
The legend goes that a nameless sword smith, who crafted swords of poor quality, was on a journey to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu, in order to pray for divine inspiration to complete his master work. Restless, he continued to travel forward, even into the night.
On his last night of traveling, he somehow became lost and found himself in a grove of mandarin tangerines. As he wander the grove, a strange spirit appeared before him and compelled him to follow.
The spirit lead him deeper into the center of the grove, where he found the tangerines shining an ethereal light like lanterns. Realizing that he had been lead to a powerful spiritual ground, he fell to his knees and bowed so low his forehead left an impression on the mud.
When he had finished paying homage, the sword smith wandered the grove, being lit by the light of the tangerines. When he reached a certain point, he couldn't believe his eyes. A forge sat before him, with a burning fire and tools to craft a sword. He then understood why he had been lead to this place.
The spirits of the grove appeared and provided him with an enchanted steel ore to forge his master work. He labored painstakingly all night with the blessed materials he was provided. When he realized he had no water to cool the blade, the spirits asked him to use the juices of the glowing tangerines around him. It was then he decided to name the sword "Mikan Kyoshikyoku."
The next day, it is said that the sword smith arrived later than expected at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman gu, but he had with him a magnificent holy sword that smelled of tangerines.
However, the very same night it was dedicated to the shrine, it was stolen. Since there was a body found at the scene, the preists realized that it must've tasted blood and became an evil sword.
As an evil sword, the Mikan Kyoshikyoku lost all it's holy powers and became a regular, albeit extremely durable, blade.
NOBLE PHANTASM: //[/color]
Itto-ryu Secret Sword: Musoken -The Dreaming Blade-
Rank: N/A
Effect: The fabled technique of Ito Ittosai, which he perfected using the entirety of his life. Musoken is the name of both Ito's core swordsmanship philosophy and his most powerful ability.
It is said that he passed down the secrets of Musoken to his apprentices, and that there are different variants depending on the user. However, the Musoken of Ito Ittosai is not a normal technique that was developed through time and experience, like the Tsubame Gaeshi of Sasaki Kojiro. Rather, it is a psychic ability that Ito was born with by sheer chance. It's origins and mechanics are unknown even to Ito Ittosai himself.
Though he built an entire philosophy around it's concept, Ittosai uses his Musoken solely as a weapon. After all, you don't need to know how a gun or a bomb works in order to pull the trigger or press the button. He doesn't treat his techniques as an art, but simply a way of killing people.
In essence, Musoken is similar to another psychic ability called claircognizance, a form of extra sensory perception where a person acquires intrinsic knowledge of a subject without any physical explanation as to how it was obtained. Claircognizants can obtain information about any kind of subject, whether it be about a person, a building, the past, present, or future.
In Ittosai's case, this ability seems geared toward sword fighting.
However, claircognizants can explain, record, and retain the information they receive. But in the case of Ittosai, all his mental functions cease, and he achieves a sort of Zen. His body acts as if it were possessed by another soul, and he can't provide an explanation as to how he moved and why.
In the past, the Musoken ability activated when Ittosai was in a life-threatening situation. When he was young, he would black out whenever he used it. As he became older, particularly when he began his formal swordsmanship training, Ittosai learned how to keep himself from blacking out and become aware of how his body moved.
Ittosai can't consciously control when Musoken activates or the actions he performs under it's influence. Musoken only activates itself if Ittosai is in a situation where his life is in immediate danger. In other words, when he is put in a position where he can't defend against a fatal enemy assault using his normal skills. This ability is most likely to activate during or right before an opponents most powerful attack or a surprise attack.
Musoken cannot be activated outside of battle.
Usually, Musoken is activated in bursts rather than a long, drawn out experience.
In combat, Musoken can predict the movements of an opponent and devise a counter in split-second time. Because Musoken is a psychic talent and not merely a technique practiced over and over, it is totally infallible, and will predict it's opponents movements with incredible accuracy in every instance, no matter what the situation or the enemy Servants' abilities.
The movements Ittosai makes during Musoken are bursts of speed and energy so powerful even Servants with high combat abilities will have an extremely difficult time trying to perceive them. The attack from Musoken will always perfectly counter the movements of the enemy.
In addition, because Musoken allows Ittosai to deliver an offensive or defensive stance in microseconds and in spontaneous, unpredictable bursts, it renders abilities like Instinct, which allows enemy Servants to predict their opponents movements, useless.
In a nutshell, it's the ultimate counter-attack. The reason why Ittosai has never known the feeling of being cut.
Of course, Musoken is not flawless.
It's main weakness is that it's mostly a close-quarter combat ability. Though Musoken can predict attacks from a distance and allow Ittosai to avoid them, it can't fight back.
It's especially useless against Casters and those Servants with magic Death Ray Noble Phantasms, like Excalibur. Just because Musoken can predict the opponents movements doesn't mean Ittosai can do anything about it, necessarily.
Though it is the ultimate counter-attack, it can be used ONLY as a counter-attack. Ittosai cannot choose when to activate Musoken, nor can he activate it for more than a split-second.
Repeated use of Musoken can drain Ittosai's body to the point where he'll be incapacitated. Since he can't control when it activates, this is an especially harrowing flaw. By just being in a dangerous situation, Ittosai can put his life in grave danger. This can be especially true when fighting multiple enemies, where Musoken can activate any number of times.
Musoken, especially in the spur of the moment, does not know the difference between friend or foe. It will kill them both equally, so it's dangerous to fight alongside this Assassin. It's possible for Ittosai to even accidentally kill his own Master.
Finally, though Musoken is said to be impossible to avoid and counter, that testimony doesn't mean anything in the Holy Grail War, where heroes and swordsmen even more distinguished than Ittosai exist and fight. If Musoken is avoided or countered, There will be a crucial moment where Ittosai will be vulnerable to assault. In addition, his mentality will be broken for a few seconds, and he won't be able to fight at full strength for that small amount of time.
Because it is a technique of pure human ability, it takes no more prana to activate than what Ittosai uses to move.
CLASS ABILITIES: //[/color]
Presence Concealment
Rank: D
Suitable for spying.
SKILLS: //[/color]
Vitrification: B+
Though his history would suggest otherwise, Ito Ittosai achieved a serene state of mind through Musoken, which allows him to empty his mind of all distractions and achieve a state of Zen. By reaching this state, he can purify the obstructions from his mind and focus solely on his goal at hand, which just happens to be to kill the opponent.
By studying his Musoken, he was able to replicate this effect outside of his killing state and achieve a "serene state of madness." His mind is not cluttered with psychopathic thoughts, and he doesn't display any sort of killing intent or even an offensive aura until he draws his blade.
Eye of Mind (Fake): A
A sixth sense for avoiding danger. Ittosai perfected this skill due to his Musoken automatically sensing danger and moving him to react.
Knowledge of Respect and Harmony: B
Prevents decrease in the effectiveness of an attack, regardless of how many times it is used.
Attacks cannot be perceived by the enemy.
Ito Ittosai perfected this ability due to his Musoken and life experiences.
Musoken: A+++
Like Tsubame Gaeshi, Musoken is a skill perfected to the point where it is on the same level as a Noble Phantasm.
STRENGTH: //[/color] C
ENDURANCE: //[/color] D
AGILITY: //[/color] A+
MANA: //[/color] E
LUCK: //[/color] B
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FACE CLAIM: //[/color] Soujiro Seta from Rurouni Kenshin
OTHER CHARACTERS: //[/color] Kuroboshi Kinou and Odysseus
MISC. INFORMATION: //[/color]---
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