little orphan oni

Name: Koji

Date of Birth: 1-17-1964

Age: 43

Sex: Male

Appearance:

Koji's human seeming barely breaks five feet in height, and from the stance he carries himself with, he projects an air of someone who never fights back. His personal appearance isn't something that's given much thought, and though his black hair is short it's usually because someone else decided it needed to be cut. Fashion is a waste of time with Koji; outside of the freak show he wears the same plain shirts and faded jeans. In the show, he's forced to wear a cliched Oriental wise-man's outfit; a high-collared jade green ensemble. He's trim, skinny even, a fact that has lent itself well to his part in the carnival as the strong man.

In his demonic form, while he's tall among mortals, Koji is still a runt among Oni and other demons of certain breeds. He barely hits seven feet tall, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in physique. Koji's natural demonic visage is powerfully muscled and onyx-skinned, and the black hair of his seeming is a deep red anywhere that hair would normally show on his body. His nose thickens and flattens into his face, jutting down to offset the short tusks that protrude up from his lower jaw.

Special Abilities:

Koji is a thinker; skilled at riddles and ciphers. He's fluent in both Japanese and English, though it's not widely known given how little he speaks. Koji's an incredibly strong swimmer, and is well-versed in woodland knowledge of all sorts. Though he's only a dabbler, his heritage has left him with a strong natural grasp of martial arts.

Supernatural Affinity (Species/Group): Oni

Supernatural Affinity (Powers):

Those associated with Oni: enhanced strength, natural martial skill, minor illusory deception

Personality:

Insular and perpetually sullen, Koji doesn't make many friends even among his fellow acts in the freak show, which suits him just fine. He rarely speaks, and when he does it's soft and inaudible, the barest bits required of him. Somewhere past his loneliness, there used to be a devious trickster, a malicious spirit. There's still hints of it at times, little glints of wickedness that manifest when the opportunity for deceit presents itself, but they never satisfy or buoy his spirit.

History:

Tobishima Island was a glorious place, a flyspeck on the northern coast of the Sea of Japan, and home to Koji's kin once upon a time. They lived in some natural sort of harmony with the bare 100 residents of the island, basking in the harmony of the nature there. His clan was small by necessity, and though they were demons, they only took a handful of humans every year, normally visiting tourists and bird-watchers. Growing up there, Koji was raised with a reverence of the natural order and a deep respect for his place in it, for the necessity of evil and cruelty in the world. Even a dwarf like him, a sign that his clan needed to limit its' breeding to keep the bloodline strong, had a place. Sadly, so many others in the world never learned such lessons.

Koji was twenty-three when the priests came to the island, a group of Taoist monks who'd been summoned after his family had fed on two hikers and their guide. And though the Asano had fended off attackers before, they'd never faced men armed with true spirituality. The runt of his family, Koji had been meant to distract their would-be attackers and lead them astray, but the monks were too wise to fall for his illusions. His family paid the price, dead before sundown that very day. Koji found them at dusk in the shoreline caves that had been his home, and something changed in him.

He rooted through the belongings of their most recent prey, gathering the tourists' money and language guides, and Koji left. The tourists' clothes were mostly intact, and their ferry passes were still valid, and suddenly? Koji found himself on the mainland of Japan, a stranger even in the culture he was a part of. He wandered for days in his human guise, living off of stray pets, alley rats, and road kill. Koji had reached Fukushima in a blank daze when he felt the first emotion to touch him in days; anger. Apparently his clothes were nice, why else would the men have tried to mug him? Of course they died, limbs twisted by his brute strength, and the outburst of violence caught the eye of a local yakuza from Tokyo.

The gangster was confused at how his offers of money, drugs, and women seemed to flow right off of Koji, and how the 'man' only perked up with the offers of somewhere to sleep and whatever he wanted to eat. Those offers would've been meaningless if Koji'd had any idea of what Tokyo was like. As it is, he only remembers the constant glare of neon lights, the foul-smelling air, and the first glimpse of the man who bought his servitude, the Ringmaster. Koji has no idea how long he's been with the freakshow, the changing environments he sees leave him only aware of the seasons. All he knows is that he's a prisoner, and that he has no reason to complain about it. What else would he be doing?

Weaknesses:

Anachronism - Even among the Oni, renowned for their unwillingness to adapt with time, Koji is a rare example. He distrusts modern technology with a strong vehemence, regarding even electricity with suspicion. His basic survival is left in the hands of the show's staff, as Koji simply doesn't grasp the workings of modern society. He never goes out without a handler to keep an eye on him, and the only modern trapping he willingly keeps on hand is a Rubik's Cube that's been solved a hundred times by now.

Selective Digestion - Another tie to his primal heritage, Koji's body is unable to handle processed foods of any sort. Trying to eat foods with preservatives will leave him nauseous, and meats cooked above rare leave a foul taste in his mouth. Koji prefers fresh meat if it's possible, and any vegetables he consumes need to be organic and pesticide free.

Depression - Without his family, he has nothing. Where so many people (or demons) would fill their grief in with vengeance, Koji has never felt the desire. Killing those responsible for their death won't bring them back. Nothing will. The cruelty has faded, the zest for life bled away, and honestly? He doesn't know why he keeps living. The depression leaves him sleepless for many nights, listless and apathetic, unmotivated to do muchy aside from the role created for him in the freak show.

Runt - Seven feet is impressive among humans, sure, but among the Oni? Koji is the Little Demon That Couldn't. It's a sign of weakness and infirmity among his own kind, and a severe social stigma that he's had to live with for his entire life. It seems to have carried over into his very Seeming, leaving Koji's human form small and unimpressive as well. He's loathe to even let the seeming fall, fearing that the short stature of his human form is still a better choice than the derision that he'd face before death if he ever revealed himself.

Strengths:

Wary - He's in a strange land, bound into service by strange beings, surrounded by unnatural devices and a truly alien culture. So Koji watches everything. Every time he's not speaking, he's listening, thinking, debating. Granted, he always throws his plans aside when the futility of his life returns, but he never stops paying attention.

PB: Tony Leung