YOSHIHARA, shou

TESSEN

<<NAME>>

Shou Yoshihara

<<AGE>>

17

<<GENDER>>

Male

<<NATIONALITY>>

Japanese

<<APPEARANCE>>

Tessen

<<PERSONALITY>>

Negative Traits

• Arrogant
  
• Rebellious
  
• Self-Serving
  
• Manipulative
  
• Deceptive
  
• Vengeful

Positive Traits

• Intelligent
  
• Charming
  
• Self-Reliant
  
• Determined
  
• Strategic
  
• Playful

Likes

• Challenges
  
• Plotting
  
• Succeeding
  
• Leveling
  
• In-Game Botany

Dislikes

• Failing
  
• Restrictions
  
• Beggars
  
• Incompetent Party Members

<<HISTORY>>

Even from an early age, Shou showed an interest in gaming; one that he credits his older sister for nurturing. Though separated by five years and some odd number of months, the two were the best of friends in their younger days. Living in a rural prefecture of Japan during this time, gaming--and each other--just felt like the only things they ever had at times. Unlike him though, Shou's sister was old enough to remember the days before their lives belonged to the countryside. In actuality, her addiction to the city life and to her friends was perhaps the main benefactor to her own interest in the online world because of that fact--because she could remember.

Often times, Shou could hear her 'reminiscing'
in another room with her father about why the move was so important. The family's tiresome daily commute to school and work surely cost more than a short walk, she'd point out. How was she supposed to develop and maintain relationships living miles away from her nearest classmates was another argument she made.

But no matter how she presented her case, the result was always the same. With a warm smile, the sibling's father dismissed the twelve year-old every time, giving her only a pat on the head and a single offer: to join him outdoors. Such an offer was always declined, however. In a world dominated by technology and industry, why would anyone want to spend their time immersed in the wilderness of all places?

Could the wilderness relay a message to a man miles away in mere seconds? Could nature inform you at a moment's notice of the rest of the world's affairs: local, communal AND global? Of course not, and that's why the 'precious outdoors' were so lacking and why the cities were so thriving. With a roll of her eyes, she never stayed much longer to listen to her father's dribble, always uttering the same unenthused response: "Right...Nature..."

Undeterred by the persistence of her father's attempts to get her to appreciate the world outside of the city walls and her window sill, she only delved deeper into what technology could offer her. First came social networking sites, and as time passed, browser-based games, and eventually, to keep up with the trend, MMOs. That was when she was fourteen and Shou was just barely nine. Before, they'd only dabbled in handheld games together and splint-screened co-op on consoles, but this was different.

MMOs carried a...varied sort of experience with them. They had communities that could together as one. In MMOs, people fought together, laughed together, mourned together; lived together. Lived separate lives from the mundane ones they knew in the real world. It was all so captivating, especially for Shou. While his sister took solace in the community and the company that gaming could bring, he had an innate infatuation with gaming in general. Though undetectable at this age, the siblings' varying ideals on the subject would definitely surface in the years to come.

Shou's twelfth year made that very clear, not so much because of his age, but because of the age of his sister: eighteen--the year she could get her license. By then, the pair had already begun drifting apart, and the day she started driving only greatened the gap. The more and more time she spent out with her friends, with the boys she so often mentioned to those same friends on her cell phone, the more and more time Shou spent alone. But he was not alone--not truly.

He had the friends in his virtual realities to keep him company and blockade the loneliness from entering his mind. That was something his parents never seemed to understand. Like his sister, he had no interest in nature like his parents did. But like his parents, he had no interest in the city like his sibling, either. His interests and his very way of life were all online and that continued for years.

The famous game Sword Art Online dropped officially when Shou was seventeen. He was not fortunate enough to secure a beta pass, but he read-up extensively on every forum, guide, and wherever else he could secure information from that could tell him more about the next biggest thing to happen in gaming. A virtual reality--wow! On the day of the launch, Shou had been camping outside the retailer for days. He was a successful student, more or less, and his already laid-back parents prodded even less than he expected to because of it, so missing school wasn't much of a big deal. They knew this would make him happy, and unbeknownst to him for some reason, his happiness really was their best interest.

And make him happy it did. The minute the NerveGear fell over his eyes, the smile never faded from his lips. The Character creation process even looked realistic; leaving great promises for what the rest of the world held visually. He took his time though, spending minutes shaping his face and body in just the precise way. After all, he'd be stuck with what he had. Choosing the name 'Tessen' as an appropriate username--one he used frequently and had no intention of changing --he accepted his avatar's appearance and jumped in.

Only minutes had passed before he was called to the center of town. Much like in the real world before he had come to Aincrad, his smile never wavered. Stuck--in a video game? How perfect. In addition to being a brilliant development direction, Kayaba Akihiko must have also been an excellent mind reader...

SKILLS

<<CORE SKILLS>>	<<SUPPLEMENTARY SKILLS>>	<<EXTRA SKILLS>>
>>one-handed swords >>leather equipment >>parrying >>alchemy	>>trapping >>n/a >>n/a >>n/a	>>n/a >>n/a

SWORD ARTS

Pommel Strike. one-handed swords
1 Strikes, 3 Specials, 75% Speed, 25% Power

With a sword drawn and held in a reverse grip stance, the user lightly taps against the weapon's pommel to initiate the attack. Now trailed by a light of pale green, a blunt strike is swiftly dealt with the end of the sword towards a target, lacking in power, but designed to stun instead, allowing a stronger attack to follow up behind it.

Drop Assassination. one-handed swords
1 Strikes, 0 Specials, 25% Speed, 225% Power

By holding a one-handed sword above the head, parallel to the body, and blade tip facing the ground, this Sword Art is triggered. Very simple in execution, this attack looks little more than a straight downward thrust, as if to finish of an opponent, though different only in the faint green glow it leaves behind. It is usually performed from a height above the target, hence its name.

<<sakigami toto from deadman wonderland as sHoU YoShIhArA>>

<<character by teSSen>>

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