- "It all comes down to what you got inside you. That's more the test than anything and beyond that... sometimes it's the battle against yourself that’s the hardest. "
- — Ky
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born to Kusanagi Kojiro and Kisaragi Akiko, Ky is the younger of two children. His elder brother, Ren, was more the bold and sarcastic of the two while Ky was quieter and mainly kept to himself. His shyness ruling most of his mind and his actions, Ky rarely took risks and sees those who do to be fools. He proceeds with caution with everything that he does and prefers not to rush for anything. He would rather have everything set and planned opposed to doing everything at the last moment. No matter how cautious he may be—no one can be prepared for everything. His father, Kusanagi, a man of wisdom and time to be his proof, was a gifted individual. Kojiro was a master bladesmith with any and all metals. His works were also very noticeable—Kojiro performed finishing touches upon all his weapons and preferred them to be made by his own hands rather than have an apprentice. Though, him having two sons, he was unable to keep them away from his work for long. Ky, who spent most of his time indoors, studied alongside his father while Ren dabbled in their mother’s books as well as several other outside sources which Ky did not understand. As Ky focused on his father’s works, he eventually learned the art of crafting. His father was pleased with the results and had encouraged his wife, Akiko, Ky and Ren’s mother to teach Ky in her trade of being the gunsmith.
Although Ky thought he had done well enough to earn his father’s blessing, he was wrong. He did not perform terrible but he was far from his father’s expectations. Seeing her youngest child’s despair, Akiko sat him down beside her and taught him everything she knew. From flash-pans to springs to the flintlock to the matchlock to the snap-hance to the wheel-lock mechanisms. For years he had gone back and forth between these two talents and even picking up on a third—the forge of armor. Though it was a great skill to attain being that several of the countries to the west seemed to be going to war, Ky was not too interested in it. Ky had also learned the talents of a Whitesmith—those who perform finishing touches to blades, firearms, cannons and many other things both common and uncommon as well.
At the age of seventeen, Ky was sent out to Okinawa to retrieve scrap parts which his father needed so that he could teach him how to perfect his technique when it came to the locking feature which Ky had recently fell in love with. After he had purchased the parts which were needed, Ky took no time in hesitation and hurried back home to the north. The next day, he had reached the village where he had lived amongst others of his Ainu ethnicity and he quickly made his way through the markets which were selling fine food and other goods as usual. Making it to the dirt road before his home, Ky immediately froze as he saw two men lying face down in the dirt. Looking at the corpses he could see even from the distance that they had both been shot. Ky himself hadn’t drawn his revolver—which had been tucked away in a small leather holder at his left thigh. Before he could advance any further, a group of men with swords appeared over the hill which led down to his residence. He already knew it would be a bad idea to draw his revolver and that had been due to their robes. The robes they wore were those which the authorities wore and looking to their arms he could see a white sash as well, yet another indication that the men were of the local authorities.
Before long Ky was approached and the men easily recognized him for Ky resembled his mother very closely while Ren, his brother, looked more like their father. The authorities informed Ky of the grim news—both Kojiro and Akiko had been murdered by bandits. Although nothing was stolen, there were two more officers who had been at the residence and they were expecting Ky’s return as well. Lifelessly nodding, he trudged on. It felt as if the earth was attempting to swallow his legs as he sluggishly moved on towards his home. It was an eternity before he reached it and when he did, the two officers who awaited him both greeted him although they were not happy to make his acquaintance under this circumstance. As the scene was investigated, they showed Ky that the bandits were after the payment which was delivered the week before last—which was the payment that Ky had collected for the trading of a masterwork of his father’s for a hefty payment. The customer, a foreigner, was no longer in the country and the bandits; all seven of them had been killed by his parents. Ky was asked if he wanted to see the bodies yet he refused. Instead, he took a few of his belongings and packed them. Before he had left, one of the officers said that his mother, Akiko, gave him a note which was for Ky to read. Taking it and from the man, Ky slowly unrolled the parchment and read its contents:
“Ky
My beautiful baby boy
You may not return to see me before I am lost to the world
But you must know that we were not taken lightly
Kojiro and I fought with everything we had and we triumphed
Your father’s swordsmanship did wonders against them and my efforts were second only to his
I fear that you, Ky, will know not what to do in this day and age but you mustn’t wallow in despair
We’ve lived our lives full and in no better way we could have
Ren is still living well although he is to leave for the West in a few days
I would like you to find him Ky. Together you both can make it in this world and not become scavengers
Your father and I both refused to become what we were to face and we dare not see either of you of their numbers
Just as we were, Ren was attacked as well, yet I was overjoyed to hear of his survival
We had planned on visiting him to ensure he had been alright but we had not the chance
Kojiro wanted to reconcile with him and make amends for being callous but that happened not
Ren is residing in town, near the ferry just two hours south of us
I dare not waste' any more' time for I’ve none to waste, Ky, in your our study, lies doctrines you must retrieve
They are of great importance and you must take them from the master' 'lock within the study
The key for the master lock is already—"
This is where the message ended. Tears had begun to make his cheeks moist and even though the officers could feel his pain, he made his way to the study. Neither of them followed for they believed he was to take his own life. But he would do no such thing. Within the study, Ky located the master lock chest but knew not what to do as a key was needed for it.
“The key for the master lock is already…”
Those were the last words of the message. Through life, his mother was a master of deception and his father made a good note of it as well. Things were hidden in plain sight or simply about another and the person knew nothing of it.
“The best pawns know not of their true purpose and walk about us as if Kings…”
That is when Ky thought of looking to his inventory, Ky found nothing of use but his revolver, and with much hesitation, Ky inserted the barrel of his revolver and when he could push it no further, he twisted the revolver to his left which surprisingly unlocked the master lock chest. The chest slowly opened on its own and when Ky looked to its innards, he saw sketches, documents and other objects with not only his father’s blade craft but also his mother’s gun craft notes as well. Taking them without hesitation, Ky carefully inserted the chest items into his own travel-bag. He had coined the leather sack as such since he only took it when he ran errands such as the one he had just returned from. With that done, Ky set his sights to the West. Ren was already heading there so he should not stay much longer. With his mind set, Ky saw his parents burial and as no one was looking, he placed gold coins about each of his parents eyes.
They were not of the Buddhist as others were and as such, he did this to pay respects to them in the afterlife. The very next day, Ky set out West to gain a greater knowledge of forging and other smith processes but more importantly, to find his elder brother, who went by his mother’s surname Kisaragi. It was just a few hours into the morning that he boarded a vessel which had been heading for Korea that would prove to be more than a conventional trip. As he was directed to his room for the voyage he was greeted by a Japanese woman in a hood. Her clothing had been mainly white with few designs which appeared to be made out of pure gold.
Ignoring that, he greeted her and they began to talk to each other. She introduced herself as Kami and told him that it would be her first time to ever leave Japan while he informed her that this would be his first time leaving Japan as well. She asked him his name and he told her as well. She continued to talk and talk of things which he knew little of; however, her white hair had most of his attention. Not only that, her name, Kami, meant Spirit. He had never witnessed someone with white hair before and seeing this as such, he was enthralled. As their conversation continued, they made their way to the deck and while there, they spoke while watching the land they both knew so well fade into the horizon. Ky had told her that he was planning on opening his own Shoppe so that he could make a business that sold swords, revolvers, rifles, and even armor, alas he knew not much about the forge process of armor; though he sounded entirely unsure of himself and for good reason to.
He would have to carry his family legacy of craft—which was not going to be easy. This he did not tell her but in a way, she sensed that there was more to it than he wanted to tell so Kami reassured him that he would someday understand it and that his business would be successful. He was well relieved to hear someone have faith in what he wanted since all his life, excluding his parents, he was continually put down by others. This was a painful truth. Ky hadn’t many friends because he was never the smartest and he had never been with a woman since he had been too shy and not only that, he was slender and not as strong as men were “supposed” to be.
All he had was a dream — a dream to continue what his parents loved and also what he grew up loving to do. In hindsight, he had also wanted find the one responsible for his parents’ death. He had been thinking all along that he could not have been followed but the bandits were led to his home. That would mean that either they were targeted or that their last client sent them to retrieve their payment. His mind was abuzz with this theory while Kami spoke on and on about what she was, a Kaminchu, she told him that she was able to sense demons and other things which were not human. As he took in little of what she had been telling him, he could not help but think that he was inferior to her. She had something which she could protect the world with; her spiritual energy, that is.
Ky pushed the thoughts from his mind and allowed himself to focused on more important matters. After they reached the port, Ky said his goodbyes and quickly departed from Kami although he knew she would wonder about his sudden departure. She had also promised that they’d meet up again, although he doubted that with every fiber of his being. As Ky traveled, he spoke little and focused on buying parts he would need. Looking over his mother’s work, he had a few formulas he wanted to test and even more so, his father’s work he was a bit anxious to try. It had been a few weeks of making purchases, selling a few items for greater value such as food for Ky to stay afloat with his income, yet it wasn’t working as best as he had hoped. As the days passed, Ky found himself in the Walled Fortress City of Grandall, Parousia.
He had reached a good destination to trade parts as well as find a local forge as well. Of course, there was one problem; Ky was dead not only on luck but also gold. With his revolver and few belongings he had little choice in what to do. His luck changed seemingly for the worse when thieves attempted to rob a couple and they would have succeeded if Ky didn’t intervene, however, the woman’s husband was killed in the struggle while Ky was injured and outnumbered three to one. Preparing for the worst, Ky steeled himself yet again, however, his luck changed yet again as a young woman intervened.
She wielded a Nihonto (he initially thought) and by the color of the blade he immediately knew her weapon to be forged with Damascus steel. With ease, she dispatched two of the men and when the third attempted to attack her from behind, Ky shot him. Despite saving the now widowed woman’s life, Ky and the female warrior were both apprehended by soldiers of Parousia and were imprisoned. It was during this imprisonment that he befriended the warrior named Raisa. She was a tad on the cold-hearted side and when compared to his soft demeanor, she was the dominant of the two. He didn’t care much for it but her attitude did weigh him down more than just once. As the days of poor meals and harsh treatment went by, it was a man known as Girardot and the woman who had lost her husband who had acted in concert for their release.
As Girardot had informed them both, due to Ky’s weapons and scrap parts he had with him and the instruments Raisa carried, that they were being viewed to have potential use and that in order to atone for their crimes of murder, they could use their skills for the military. Ky protested that they had both saved the widows wife but, Girardot still deadpanned that they did in fact kill three citizens of Grandall and that it was of course, the best thing that the he could offer them--especially to ones who were not of this country whatsoever.
Despite feeling cornered, Ky accepted the offer as did Raisa. He only chose to take this offer simply because if he did not, he was certain that he would be introduced to the gallows. That and he had absolutely nowhere to go and with things going as they were, they were not getting better anytime soon. The two work cooperatively, crafting for the military but was is until Raisa found a slight loophole in Girardot’s grace. If the two of them joined the military, they would have a little more freedom and also, it would go beyond the service they need to perform and it would also pay them more as well. Ky wasn’t sure if he wanted to fight for the military but as Raisa had deadpanned, he technically already was, by crafting weaponry for them and her crafting armor and mail. It took roughly a month for him to decide, however, Ky joined Raisa in her idea and they both joined the military.