Character Profiles [Akuma Family -- Yakuza]
Name: Youichi Hiruma
Age: 22
Faction/Group: Yakuza
Job: Card dealer
History:
In the old Japanese society, your mother brought you up, and your father was the awe-inspiring authority figure. For Hiruma, it was quite the opposite. The young child had lost his mother at an early age, not even old enough to remember her, and was stuck with his screw-up of a father. His father's passive nature led him to become a willing doormat, never striving to get anywhere in life, and to develop a habit of wilting under pressure. After his mother passed, his father was forced to work many odd jobs to make ends meet for himself and his son, even going so far as to borrow money from anyone who'd offer. Consequently, Hiruma's father was never around, leaving the boy to fend for himself at an early age. Fortunately, he was smart, excelling in anything he did, most notably school, though the academic life wasn't his thing.
Hiruma yearned to know about the outside world, beyond what was force-fed to him by an underpaid staff. He skipped school regularly to wander around the city, his father too busy to even care. It was in his early years of middle school that he learned of a military base just on the edge of the city. Curiosity piqued, he snuck into the base through a small hole in the fence, staring in amazement at all the sights. Unfortunately, before he could finish his tour of the grounds (narrowly escaping the patrol guards stationed in every nook and cranny of the place), he was spotted by one of the burly troops, and threatened to be arrested. Time well spent fooling his teachers into believing he had been in class (when he most certainly wasn't) came into play at that moment, when he spewed a mountain of bullshit about their commander. While the lie didn't work, the patrol guard took pity on the boy, even going so far as to laugh and call him talented.
Soon, his home became the base, his teachers became the people in it, and his father figures became the soldiers.
He learned that the soldiers there were from a strange land called America, a place his father had cursed more often than not. The soldiers told him about their homeland, tales of bustling cities, all different kinds of food, and how different the cultures were there. That was what really caught the young Youichi's attention the most: difference. In Japan, you were expected to act just like everyone else. Acting different from the crowd was frowned upon, and Hiruma, growing up with blond hair and sharp features, had always been an outcast. After the American's tales, the blond "devil" (as the American soldiers nicknamed him for his devious mind and sharp tongue) strove to be as different as possible. His speech pattern, social habits, and even the piercings in his ears declared that he was glad to be outside the box.
Among his odd behavioral traits, the soldiers also gave him the ability to defend himself and to make quick decisions in a bad situations. Of course, while perfectly well off in a fist fight, Hiruma became fascinated with the guns and explosive equipment the American soldiers carried around. His obsession became understanding how every gun ever made was built, and how they all worked. He became an expert shot with almost any type of artillery, even besting some of the men who had been working with the equipment for years.
Hiruma Youichi was finally happy with his life. He had a true home, with friends and family. He even started going back to school. People avoided him like the plague (except one enormous, happy-go-lucky student who refused to stop following him), but he had never been more satisfied with the world around him.
Everything was good, until the day three men in expensive looking suits showed up at his door, with his father in tow. It seemed the Yakuza loan sharks had finally gotten fed up with his failure of a dad, and had come collecting. The only thing to collect out of their piss-poor family was Hiruma, of course. And so, the blond marksmen was taken away from his perfect life, away from his friends, and away from the soldiers who had made his life worth living. Forced to work for a small-time Yakuza boss named Doburoku, Hiruma forced himself to forget about all that he had lost and move on with his life. He soon found that the Yakuza were people just like him, men and women looking to be different from everyone else in their mundane society. He soon adopted the people around him as his new family, doing everything in his power to make their family greatly respected. Through work as a loan shark, Hiruma learned the wonderful arts of extortion and blackmail. He began a threat book with stacks upon stacks of information from every single person who had ever borrowed money from Doburoku. It was through one his collection jobs that he met one Gen Takekura, otherwise called Musashi, after the legendary samurai. Gen's strong will, unyielding loyalty to his father and family, and quiet, but forceful demeanor quickly made Hiruma become enamored of him. Of course, a job was a job, and Hiruma wasn't about to get any of his fingers cut off for doing the nice thing and calling off the collection altogether. He gave Musashi the same choice that had been given to his father; the first son is collected as payment and the family is set free from debt, or the whole family would die.
It took the the older-looking teen exactly a week to agree with the conditions.
Despite the situation (which was normal in Japan, seeing as the Yakuza were not hidden away from society), Hiruma became best friends with the man who had intrigued him in the first place. One was often found with the other, and they began working on the same jobs. There were together so much, even the gang's transfer to America hardly affected either of them. He still had Musashi with him, after all. Getting used to the language and the culture had been a snap for the blond demon, who grew up with American soldiers. He knew his way around their new home, Atlantic City, from one of the men who had grown up there. The Yakuza family prospered because of this, more so than any of the others who lived in the whole northeast region of the U.S. But just like many of the good things in Youichi's life, his steady and enjoyable life once again came to an abrupt halt when Musashi told him he was going back to Japan, to take care of his ailing father. Hiruma merely laughed it off, telling his friend that he wouldn't be allowed to leave; Doburoku didn't exactly hand out money for his "children" to go back home.
The next day, Musashi was gone.
Hiruma did the only thing he could do to vanquish his depression, he shut up about it and he counted. Counted the days, weeks, and months that the teenager was away. For a year and a half, there was nothing; no letters or news. Hiruma almost suspected that Musashi had been mowed down by a rival gang. Why else would he be gone for a year and a half without ever sending note to his friends? Just when the teenager had given up hope, the strong brunet returned home. Returned to him. Thirteen thousand two hundred ninety-seven hours, and forty-nine minutes without him. Hiruma had never been so relieved in his life to see another person, nor so angry. In an emotional outburst of rage, Youichi cursed the older-looking teenager, threatening to kill him if he ever went away again, to ruin his life if he ever just disappeared. It was quite unlike him, but love makes people do strange things. Luckily, Musashi was happy to say the words that the blond demon couldn't. Surprisingly, their relationship came as no shock to the people around them. Some embraced it, other took a while to accept it. At least Doburoku allowed it.
After a roller coast of disappointments in his life, Hiruma finally found something that lasted. And life, thankfully, went on.