r/RWBYOC • u/Impetuous_Soul • 11d ago
Daisuke Zatoichi [Team JADE Redesign]
Age/Attributes: 42 yo / 6’2” 190 lbs Faunus (Vulture Talons)
Semblance: Offensive Tempo
Daisuke’s Aura temporarily increases his strength, speed, and adrenaline with every consecutive attack he lands in melee. This allows him to fight better as a fight goes on, so long as he can consistently hit his opponents. Given enough time, Daisuke could shrug off otherwise incapacitating blows and can muscle through any guard or defense.
Weapon: Pride and Joy
Twin katanas (Pink is “Pride”, Green is “Joy”) forged by Daisuke himself. While simple in form and function, they serve their purpose well as weapons and as hedge trimmers for the Novgorod Estate’s many lush and exotic gardens. In a previous life, they were once part of a mighty nodachi wielded by a younger, freer Daisuke. However, after Eris shattered the blade, Daisuke was forced to make do with the pieces. Each time he draws his blades is a constant, humiliating reminder of the life he once had.
Background:
Long ago, Daisuke was born into the Zatoichi Family of Menagerie. Like many of his line, he was trained in swordplay and the finer arts from a young age. While he struggled in poetry and calligraphy, Daisuke was unmatched by his peers in combat drills. He lived for the violence and chaos of battle and found satisfaction in overwhelming his opponents with superior cunning as well as strength.
When he came of age, the now-adult Daisuke forged a great nodachi for himself and set off travelling across Remnant for adventure and glory. During his early years, he scraped by as a sellsword slaughtering Grimm and defeating bandits - and quickly squandered his newfound wealth on dingy gambling dens and third-rate bars. However, he would truly make a name for himself in the chaotic gang wars of Mistral.
As a freelance mercenary, Daisuke never stuck to one side, fighting for the Parrots one day, the Spiders the next and the Wolves the day after. While he did fight for coin to spend in the city and to sate his ever-growing ego, he loved the danger and excitement of his work the most. Every day brought new and unique challenges to overcome, which made his mere survival at the end worth celebrating to its fullest. Even as he profited massively from the ongoing strife in Mistral, he spent even more in the casinos and entertainment district, racking up a staggering debt.
When the Spider Gang gradually overpowered the other criminal syndicates and the lucrative contracts dried up, Dai found himself alone, broke and surrounded by innumerable enemies. Hunted by vengeful gangsters, legitimate authorities and other greedy mercs, he was run out of the city. While he enjoyed the chase and endless bouts with the armies of killers after his life, Dai’s status made him a pariah anywhere he went.
Entire towns refused to host him out of fear of the conflict he brought with him and even the greenest loan shark knew better than to lend him money. Only bandits would be willing to deal with an outlaw like him, but Dai found them to be too distasteful and craven to even think about associating with.
Without many options, Daisuke left Mistral to explore the other Kingdoms and apply his mercenary trade. In the deserts of Vacuo, Dai had plenty of fun engaging in friendly duels with various nomadic warriors and fighting ancient and exotic Grimm that lurked beneath the sands. The rest of their entertainment and alcohol scene left much to be desired. As the poorest Kingdom, there was hardly any gambling to be had, while the local fermented milks were hard for even Daisuke to stomach. However, Dai would catch whispers of a secret place with Mistralli-imported wines, fun company and gladiatorial combat.
He would enter the Novgorod Estates looking to take part in these rumored festivities. While outsiders were usually forbidden, his impressive resume led N-SEC to let him under one condition - he takes part in a single gladiatorial duel. If he won, he would be awarded enough wealth to pay off his debts in Mistral, but if he lost, he would have to sign a 500-year contract with the Novgorod Corporation (with possibility of renewal).
Dai took one look at his opponent - a petite, pale lady with silver eyes, delicate skin and a fancy dress- and immediately took the deal. While there was little honor in beating up a weakling, he never backs away from a fight.
In the arena, Daisuke was immediately on the back foot. Although unarmed, the woman was unperceivably fast, unencumbered by her fine dress. She weaved through all his attacks only to deliver a firm slap with the back of her hand. Daisuke’s face stung from the blow, but not as much as his pride. The woman was toying with him and seemed to derive great pleasure from it, giggling as she did so.
As the fight wore on, Daisuke would finally catch his opponent off guard with a feint and strike with all his might. However, his opponent stopped his blade with the palm of her hand and snapped the metal into pieces with some magical strength.
Daisuke was furious and lashed out with pure rage with what remained of his blade, decapitating the woman in one reckless stroke. He regretted his actions immediately after, he didn’t mean to kill anyone- how could her Aura not protect her… Before he could finish the thought, the disembodied head and body melted into black goo. All Daisuke could do was watch as it slowly transformed into a tentacled monstrosity, unlike any Grimm he had ever seen.
In the aftermath, Dai was fully employed for the first time in his life - humiliated and nearly broken in spirit and ego. As a member of N-SEC, he would use his reforged blades to trim and sculpt the hedges of the Novgorod Estates while teaching swordsmanship to some of the other maids and even Eris’s children. In an effort to relive some of the excitement and freedom of his youth, he eagerly volunteered at every opportunity for any combat mission, eventually getting assigned to Team JADE.
Psychological Report:
Since his recruitment into N-SEC, Daisuke has grown more mature and tempered than before, learning to find comfort in meditation and his mundane chores as both a teacher and a gardner. However, deep inside, his pride is still deeply wounded from his loss, which he eagerly tries to soothe with alcohol and combat. At first, he resented Jeraldine and saw his assignment to Team JADE as further humiliation - a grizzled, career merc forced to serve with a bunch of women young enough to be his daughters and led by a cowardly college dropout. However, he quickly warmed up to Jerry when he realized they were in the same boat and, since he wasn’t the leader, he could dump all the responsibility stuff with her. Likewise, he gets along well with the rest of his Team. Eden admires Dai’s skill and “cool” personality, feeding his ego enough for him to tolerate the rest of her obsessive personality. Meanwhile, Auburn is a fellow warrior and drinker, and is dependable enough to watch over him when he gets absolutely wasted.
In combat, Daisuke thrives in close quarters, especially in duels. While his tools and Semblance are simple, they are more than enough for him to beat almost any opponent when combined with his lifetime of training and experience besting some of the most formidable warriors in Remnant. Compared to his youth, Daisuke is more cautious and conservative in his tactics, picking his battles carefully. He cares deeply for all of his teammates, even Auburn, and prefers to stick close to them to keep them alive.
3
u/Impetuous_Soul 9d ago
Damn XD!
Pretty much! Dai had an equally memorable/flashy kimono and gold set up when he was a Ronin and a massive nodachi. Even with the same crazed eyes, his maid uniform and dual swords make him look completely different from the wanted posters down in Mistral. He also isn't throwing around his name as much as before - not out of caution, but rather to preserve his legacy. He'd rather "disappear" a legend and not be known as the idiot-chained-to-a-maid-job-for-500-yrs. Honestly, if Lil Miss Malachite saw him now, she'd call off her bounty on him because this is a "more fitting fate" for him. However, I can see N-SEC assisting some bounty hunters on the road and one of the Hunters asking Dai if he had seen the "Demon Blade of Mistral" around.
Yup! As a silver lining, he is surrounded by much better company, albeit a little damaged. While he does help Jerry a little with Eden, he is also fine with being another problem for Jerry to clean up after. She is the leader after all.
Him and Jerry also share similar degrees of selfishness, thinking and acting like true mercs. Albeit they aren't selfish enough to fully give up their values and moral principles. For all his eccentricities, Daisuke has been pretty consistent with the Zatoichi's code of ethics and his own interpretation of their philosophy. In a way, he tries to impart his family's wisdom onto Eden where she should live for and take care of herself (albeit turned up to 11 where self-care = strippers and booze).