introduction: a branch of the japanese mafia long since settled in the states, the moriyamas earned a seat at the high table when kengo rose to power. since then they have ruled west virginia and the nearby districts uncontested.
when neil's father commits a terrible mistake while working for the moriyamas, costing them millions of dollars, he is presented with a choice: die or give them his son as payment. nathan wesninski, also known in the criminal underworld as the butcher of baltimore, is more than willing to trade his only son's freedom for his own and so neil is given to ichirou moriyama, heir of the main family and next in line for his father's seat at the high table. neil becomes everything ichirou needs him to be: killer for hire, personal bodyguard, harbringer of death and retribution for the enemies of the moriyama family.
notes. by default events take place around the movies timeline, but unless plotted neil will very much stay on the sidelines of that.
+ upbringing in baltimore
he learned to wield knives from a tender age, under his father's brutal tutelage and the help of his most trusted circle of armed thugs and professional killers. by the time neil was twelve he knew how to kill a man. two years later he could put his teachings into practice with wicked precision and speed.
his mother died when neil was ten years old, killed inside their baltimore home after she tried to run away with nathan's money and their son. mary hatford's death was neither slow or painless and neil was forced to witness every second of it, to listen to her every scream. the woman never once pleaded for her life.
+ the nest
evermore, known as the nest among its inhabitants, is where neil has been brought up under moriyama care since he was 15. technically it's a huge building located near charleston, west virginia, but neil has seen very little of the world outside its oppressive walls for years, until he was trusted enough to handle jobs on his own. function as both training grounds and living quarters, the nest fosters a highly competitive group of individuals, later selected to work for the moriyamas and want for nothing in their lives ever again. the ones that succeed, anyway. which is also to say: the ones that survive.
fight because you don't know how to die quietly
+ misc
(i) despite his father's lessons, neil prefers to use guns instead of knives. usually semi-automatic pistols with long slides for faster target aquisition and accuracy. (ii) he speaks fluent japanese due to his frequent close proximity to ichirou moriyama. (iii) what he lacks in height (he stands at an unimpressive 160cm) he makes up for in speed and agility. (iv) he is not overly known, not by the name he prefers to use for himself (neil) or the one given to him at birth (nathaniel). but among moriyama circles he is sometimes referred to as shi, which in japanese means death. this mostly stems from the fact that the gun gifted to him by ichirou for his coming of age has the number 4 (shi or yon) engraved on the grip panel.
VERSE ROUTES,
default. neil has has been in service of the moriyama family and, by extention, the high table, for about seven years. he is no longer required to stay at the nest, only to debrif ichirou after every assignment. (age: 24-25)
runaway. nathaniel escaped the moriyama's grasp by running away from his father before ever coming to the nest. he has been on the run for years, never staying in one place too long and living out of the country too. he frequently changes his name, dyes his hair from auburn to an unsuspecting brown and makes use of contact lenses of the same color. but his time is ticking mercilessly: his father's men are looking for him and nathan is bound to get out of prison soon. his latest identity is neil josten and his aim is to be as forgettable as possible, to never stand out in a crowd. (age: 19-20)
