Ritsuka Natori │ ♂ │ Keeper of the Moon │ 26 │ Non-combatant (...perhaps?)
Ritsuka = 律夏 (law, summer)
Aliases: various
Nameday: 14th Sun of the Sixth Astral Moon
Height: 5’7’’
Hometown: Limsa Lominsa
Occupation: Quartermaster, spymaster for Suiren Shrine
Appearance: A slight shade of neutral grey of his tribe. Near-blind right eye and small scar on left cheek near his chin. Lashing scars on back. Five inch scar inside right thigh.
Eyes: Lavender, wears glasses to correct his blurry right eye.
Hair/Fur: Black, falls to midback and usually tied back in some manner.
Demeanor: Quiet and composed when conducting business affairs. Has earned a reputation and when he speaks, he’s heard. An expert politician due to people-handling skills he acquired from his past. Polite, proper.
Family: Percival Natori (husband), Satoru Natori (son), Saeha Moui (younger half-sister, deceased)
Current Status: Suiren Shrine
Social Links:
To be determined
Fun Facts:
Has an odd ability to operate on little to no sleep
Often smells of lavender
Very concerned with personal hygiene and appearance
Has training in many weapon styles, favoring daggers and lighter one-handed swords which he wields in a Chinese-inspired style
In-Depth Background (spoilers abound):
Born on the docks of Limsa as Ohki’a, he is the bastard child of Ohki Moui, a woman that made her living by walking the docks of the seedier side of town. He was a quiet child for the most part being reared by a handful of Ohki’s ‘associates’ and whoever happened to be in the hovel at the time. Most of his days were spent cleaning and running whatever errands the women and their guards had for him. As Ritsuka aged he caught the attention of Ohki’s boss who decided the boy would also entertain for money. The next few years were harsh as Ritsuka struggled through maturity. The Keeper attempted multiple times to escape however his younger half-sister was always used as leverage to keep him under the slavers’ control. After his first escape attempt he was beat nearly to death, leaving scars across his body and nearly blinding his right eye. That punishment and the threats to Saeha discouraged any further escape attempts.
Though he had absolutely no love for the life he has been tied up into, he cared very much for his innocent sister and was willing to take the full brunt of abuse and attention to keep her safe, especially with the death of their ill mother. A traveling fortuneteller showed Ritsuka the basics of astrology, a rare kind hand that he needed. Unfortunately the Au Ra was killed off by The Pearl’s guards for ‘distracting’ the miqo’te. Ritsuka was a tightly controlled commodity within the brothel.
A rescue at around age eighteen (for he doesn't know his own nameday) by the sky pirate Captain Airell Carver led to the Moui siblings being freed and left on their own far away from Limsa in Kugane. Ritsuka was a smart, resourceful soul and worked everywhere from physical labor, to dishwasher, to cook where he slowly made connections with locals. He self-studied the language, observed the customs, changed his name, and soon was recognized with an ‘intern’ position in the embassy quarter.
With finances secure and now a steady business under his belt, Ritsuka turned to self-defense. Floating about Hingashi he found instructors of several different weapon styles. It took a silver tongue to convince some to take a foreigner under their wing but he prevailed in most cases. An agile being by nature and light on his feet, he took to the shadows well. An old shinobi taught him many of the Hingan artes. Then weapons training. Blade and poison. The Keeper took to it quickly and with a passion. He wouldn’t be helpless on any front of his life anymore.
Upon seeing the name of ‘Airell Carver’ on the list of foreigners coming to establish business within Hingan territory, Ritsuka took it upon himself to take on the task of settling the Kotodama Clan safely and comfortably in Shirogane. His leverage within the city administration allowed him to secure a plot, licenses, and all paperwork needed for the Clan to lay their roots in the East.
I. THE SERPENT SONS
The past couldn’t stay away, however. An enemy within the Bakufu with quite a vendetta traced down his foreign rival’s background with many patient years of digging. And in time, Captain Lynaask and his Serpent Sons came to fetch their runaway property.
It showed to the revenue that a handsome, well-trained, well-behaved slave brought in that the captain would go himself to steal Ritsuka back to Limsa Lominsa. They remained in Kugane port for days. And the shinobi watched and monitored the crew, furious that someone had gone through such lengths just to be rid of him.
The pirates were persistent, camping for a good moon. And their patience paid off. They nearly nabbed Ritsuka, injuring him terribly before he escaped back to the Kotodama estate. He was found bleeding out in his gear by Dain and Infenel who tended to him. The secret was out.
Soon after, the Sons managed to nab Saeha by pure chance. Still recovering, Ritsuka had to sit back and watch as those of the Clan rescued his baby sister. They were successful. But it wasn't without retaliation.
A large last push of the pirates pushed for the estate. Subtlety was out the window. Members of the Clan clashed with the Sons on the green grounds of the property. They were victorious. And the Serpents were pushed back. With pressure from the Kugane authorities in the wake of the brazen attack, the Limsans were forced away from the East.
And the siblings could breathe a bit in peace.
However now Ritsuka needs to track down who it was that turned enemies from his past on him. And when it comes to Eastern politics, that isn’t an always easy thing to find.
II. PAYOFF
Ritsuka kept his subtle power plays in motion within Kugane. With the assassination of a man named Fujiwara, the top position for foreign affairs within the local government office had opened. And he earned it.
With that, the miqo’te resigned as representative for the Kotodama Clan, appointing Vivisha Visha as his replacement. His departure was quiet and without disruption as he always aims for.
Moving back into his flower shop and home that had stood abandoned since the Sons’ attack, Ritsuka is poised to rise to power as much as an ijin can. However many enemies still lurk about him and now he doesn’t have the Clan to watch his back.
III. A SHRINE AND A SON
Ritsuka eventually moved with a large group of breakaways from the Kotodama to establish Suiren Shrine. He assumed quartermaster duties and kept the shrine operating as a sanctuary to those in need of a home. Firstly, they’d have to get through his scrutinizing interview and records review to ensure guests weren’t bringing trouble to his doorstep.
A visit from a local Raen noble revealed that he had a son, fathered from his days of the flesh trade at Limsa Lominsa. The mother, a woman of high noble standing within Kugane, could no longer hide the young boy and through long investigation (a product helped by the Serpent Sons attack years ago), she’d finally located the father. As wary as Ritsuka was taken in the half miqo’te-half Raen boy, a small part of a conscience could not leave Satoru to suffer a life being hidden away from the world. So the seven-year-old came to live at the shrine, proving he was indeed his father’s son with a brilliant mind.
His political maneuvering continued, leading to many close calls. After a brazen assassination attempt in daylight with his young sister, Saeha, in tow, Ritsuka began to contemplate if all the work was worth it. After all, he was breaking himself in order to provide to her. What good would it do if he passed in the process?
But that line of thinking was unfortunately ended as the young miqo’te girl was caught up in a dock incident, losing her life and plunging Ritsuka into a moon-long period of mourning. The only one allowed to see him was the contracted machinist, Percival, to whom the two had a rather odd working relationship.
IV. MARRIAGE
With Percival tending to the mourning cat, Ritsuka in time did recover. Once he made the decision to pull himself through, things returned to normal. Politics swarmed anew and one of Ritsuka’s primary opponents managed to legislate a law that foreigners could no longer hold certain offices within the Bakufu. Of course, the quartermaster moved quickly. He entreated Percival into a sham marriage, earning citizenship through the Raen so he could remain in his post.
Little did he know that this marriage would, slowly and painfully, turn into something sincere. Percival’s patient persistence weathering the Keeper’s barbed words, blades, and spiteful attitude won out. Despite all the political maneuvering, Ritsuka finally grew tired of it all. Perhaps it was due to having a safe place and partner. Perhaps it was the growing impact of his illness that left him weaker every year. Perhaps it was that with Saeha’s passing, it made him concentrate on what was important. Satoru was to be schooled at a prestigious academy on Koshu Island. The shrine had settled into peace. He has a koban nestegg for emergencies.
So Ritsuka left the Bakufu to focus solely on his quartermaster duties and live the most peaceful life that he can manage.
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Current as of 18 Nov 22
