[OOC] Application
[character history / background]: I looked at their wiki entries but they didn’t really have a clear-cut background section, sooo I’m just going to try to do it on my own and keep it short.
Both Krad and Satoshi’s history can be traced back to the original ancestors of the Hikari and Niwa clans. Hikari was an artist who became obsessed with his work, and Niwa was a thief who was obsessed with stealing them. Driven mad by the power he was granted to give life to artwork, Hikari was nearing competition of his masterpiece, Kokuyoku, when Niwa attempted to steal it. The magic that was being used during the ceremony went wild, and manifested itself as the curse placed on the two families: Krad, in the Hikaris, and Dark, in the Niwas.
Satoshi, being the last of the Hikaris, has inherited this curse, and has Krad living within them. He’s inherited it from his mother, who died when she was very young. (The exact cause is unknown, but it’s been implied to be an illness caused by the curse of the Hikaris.) After her death, he was adopted by the young chief of police, and took on his foster father’s last name, Hiwatari.
Very intelligent from a young age, Satoshi went to college and graduated by the time he was thirteen. After he graduated, he enrolled in middle school and pretended to be an ordinary student. (He tells Daisuke Niwa that his intent was to be “close” to him, although he takes it back and claims it’s for “family reasons”-it’s likely that his original motivation was to keep a close eye on Daisuke and wait for Dark to appear. However, it’s implied that he stayed in middle school because he began to care of Daisuke.) He also began to work for his father’s department as a detective, assigned to be the leader of the case of the Dark thefts. Because of this, he and Daisuke became enemies, Daisuke turning into Dark and stealing the old works of the original Hikari and Satoshi attempting to capture Dark himself--without the help of his alter-ego, Krad. Krad, however, didn’t appreciate Satoshi pushing him to the side, and he’d occasionally make an appearance and attempt to kill Daisuke and Dark himself.
However, while Satoshi and Daisuke were enemies at night, Daisuke treated Satoshi with kindness and continually reached out to him. Eventually he began to break through the barriers that Satoshi put up against people, and Satoshi began to consider Daisuke a friend (or even more)…but that seemed to trigger Krad. Eventually, after an incident that led to him staying with the Niwas one night, he quit school and disappeared. He was gone for a decent period of time, until one of the Hikari works, Argentine, appeared and kidnapped Dark’s love interest, Risa Harada. He then sought out Daisuke and offered to help him rescue Risa. He was on his way to the tower where Argentine was keeping Risa when the City decided it needed a new resident…
[character abilities]: Satoshi, being a college graduate, is obviously highly intelligent and knowledgeable, although he doesn’t go out of his way to show it off. Also, he’s very observant, often taking note of things he sees (both mentally, and occasionally literally taking notes in a notebook he carries with him). Despite him wearing glasses, he does not need them to correct his vision, so even if his glasses get removed for some reason, he’ll still be able to see. (There’s speculation that his glasses serve as a magical barrier against Krad, since his glasses falling off is often a precursor to Krad appearing. Although it’s never expressly stated, I’m going to be using this unless the manga later contradicts it.)
Also, being a Hikari grants him magical powers when it comes to works of art. He can replicate any work of art as long as he sees it once, and he is the only one still alive that can destroy the works left behind by his ancestor. He also says that he can give life to art in the same way that his ancestor could-however, he’s never demonstrated this ability “on-screen” with an original work, only to restore the artwork of another. It’s possible that he could do this with original works of art as well-whether he’d actually choose to, given the trouble it’s caused in the past, is the true question.
On top of these abilities, Satoshi has within him a magical, cursed alter-ego, Krad. It’s never explicitly said what triggers his transformation, although it’s implied to have something to do with either his feelings for Daisuke, or pent up anger and hatred that he normally keeps at bay. (Or, perhaps, even strong emotions in general-that’s the explanation I’m leaning towards.) Krad has the ability to shoot magical energy from his hands and at his opponents, and can also release white wings from his back to use them to fly. However, when Krad uses his powers, he harms Satoshi.
[character personality]:
Satoshi is intelligent, mature, calm and rational, but emotionally distant. Since he lost his mother at a young age, and his relationship with his foster father is strained at best, Satoshi has learned to be self-sufficient. He gets up on his own in time for school, makes his meals, goes to his school and does his homework there, then returns home, finishes some chores, and heads to bed. His life moves like monotonous clockwork, except for the nights in which he squares off against Dark and attempts to stop him from stealing the works of the Hikari. During those nights he still keeps a cool head in front of the officers he commands, but when he comes face-to-face with Dark he comes alive: he seems to enjoy their game of cat-and-mouse as much as the thief does. It wouldn’t be accurate to say that it gives him joy, but it does give a sense of purpose to his life. In fact, he’s been trained from a child to oppose the phantom thief. It’s probably a fair assumption to say he enjoys being challenged, particularly since his high level of intelligence means this rarely happens.
Because in part of his life experiences, Satoshi comes across as being classy among the girls at his school and oddly (almost unnaturally) adult for his young age to the boys, and anyone that has the rare opportunity to get close to him. He’s unconcerned with the typical issues that trouble boys his age. He’s much more concerned with his work, and the gravity of his family curse. Also, even though he’s only 14, he has an almost jaded opinion of life. He purposefully keeps people at a distance, remaining aloof and cold among his peers. He admits to Daisuke that he didn’t want to get close to anything because then he’d be afraid to lose it. He’s painfully aware that if you gain something, you’ll have to lose it someday. He doesn’t feel like he has the time to worry over what he might lose-because of the curse, the members of his family are short-lived, and he believes that he, too, is near death. Although he put all of his energy into fulfilling his destiny-capturing Dark-he resented the curse placed on him because of his blood, and hated both his own family and the Niwas for what their ancestors had caused.
However, try as he might, he couldn’t hate Daisuke. Daisuke, unlike himself, had grown up much more like a normal child, despite his training and family curse. He saw the world through an innocent, hopeful spirit. He expressed his emotions honestly and didn’t hold them back-anyone could see when he was upset, flustered, scared, or happy. And despite knowing almost from day one that Satoshi was a detective assigned to capture Dark, Daisuke reached out to Satoshi and attempted to be his friend. This had an marked affect on Satoshi-at first he tried to push Daisuke away as he did everyone else, but when the other boy persisted he slowly started to open up to him and consider him a friend. In fact, Daisuke is the one thing that we know makes him truly happy-at this point, he’s as devoted to Daisuke as he used to be to capturing Dark, if not more so. However, although he treats Daisuke with far more warmth than he shows to anyone else, he’s still not nearly as open about his emotions as Daisuke is with him.
It’s possible that since Daisuke has managed to get through to Satoshi that he would respond slightly more positively to a character that wanted to be his friend than he has in the past. However, he’s still rather stunted emotionally, and it’ll be an uphill battle for anyone who tries.
In contrast to Satoshi is his alter-ego, Krad. While Satoshi is calm and rational, Krad is violent and spiteful, although he tends to hide it all under polite words and a sophisticated demeanor. His true motivations seem to be clouded in mystery-much like Dark-but it’s obvious that he holds a lot of hatred for the Niwa family. When he has a chance, he’ll often attempt to kill Daisuke. Dark he treats slightly more affectionately, and he at least seems to consider him a worthy opponent, but it’s still apparent that he has no qualms about killing Dark to fulfill his own means.
When he speaks to Satoshi, his words are gentle and strangely loving, but his tone is mocking. “To me, you are everything,” he tells the boy, yet he doesn’t hesitate to use his powers, even though he knows full well that it will damage his body. In truth, Satoshi is important to him because he’s his vessel-the body he’s allowed to use to remain in the world. He’s nothing more than a tool to Krad, and what Krad wants the most from him is for Satoshi to give up, so that he’ll have full control of his body. The two are both constantly struggling for control. It’s likely that the struggle is what is causing Satoshi’s shortened lifespan.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Manga, right in the middle of the first chapter after the revival-he’ll have been traveling to the tower with Daisuke to face Argentine when the City takes him.