GRIT COMBAT GUIDE: MAKOTO

Shiraikaze Makoto, the Caller of the Four Winds

RL: Fox Lee
E-mail: foxlee@synthetic-surrealism.net
ICQ: 38049868
AIM: JesseSensei

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RANK & TRAITS

Rank: 8

Attributes:
Fast* (see Specials)

Skills:
Hand-to-Hand(-)
Kendou(+)
Wind Techniques

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ATTITUDE

Style: Shiraikaze Kendou - also known as the Sword of the Four Winds.
 This is his personal style, developed by creating his own techniques
 based around an inherited sword style; it's basically a combination
 of classic kendou with various long-range wind-based techniques. It's
 quite brutally effective, but has the nasty drawback of relying on a
 weapon.

Methods: Makoto finds no joy in fighting or killing, and nor does he
 believe it should be glorified - indeed, he finds the idea of combat
 being treated as sport to be quite disgusting. He takes a coldly
 efficient approach to  battle, keeping a cool head and using the most
 effective means  available to finish things quickly; more often than
 not, it ends up as  one single, dramatic face-off. If his initial
 attack does not finish the fight, Makoto will fight defensively, and
 attempt to study his opponent's methods in hopes to adapt and counter
 them. While he does get angry, it's always a cold kind of fury, and
 rarely ever gets in the way of his clear thinking.

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SPECIALS

Advantages:
 Martial Arts: Standard Nerima Martial Arts abilities. Nothing unusal
   here, folks.
 Dedication: Makoto has devoted his life to learning the Shiraikaze
   Kendou style. Although it is barely worthy of note as an
   advantage, he knows his style by heart, and its movements and
   techniques have become all but second nature to him.
 Elemental Affinity: For some unknown reason, Makoto has a special
   gift for controlling the winds. This doesn't so much make his style
   more effective as it is part of the reason his style is so
   effective, but I thought it might be worth mentioning. He can also,
   albeit on a very small scale, manipulate air currents outside of
   his combat techniques.
 *Heritage: As part of the Musk Clan, Makoto has access to some
   supernatural advantages; most noticeably, his right eye can
   perceive things at incredibly high speeds, and see things like
   auras and ki flow, and he can move at very high speeds, even for
   his rank. However, in accordance with his training philosophy, he
   supresses these advantages whenever possible (hence the reason for
   his eyepatch).

Disadvatages:
 Dependancy: All of Makoto's techniques, and a lot of his combat
   prowess, depend on having his katana. Take it away somehow, and
   he's pretty screwed.
 Nobility: Well, some call it "noble". Most call it bloody stupid.
   Makoto is honourable to a fault; he won't attack an opponent who
   appears weaker than himself, will always accept a surrender, will
   always be merciful, all that sort of thing. He doesn't even
   consider the use of sneaky or dirty tactics, and would scorn their
   use even if he did. Basically, he's another honourable moron ;p
 *Denial: Although Makoto gains a sizeable advantage from his Musk
   heritage, he prefers to keep it supressed at all times, believing
   that he cannot better himself while he leans on this advantage. 

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TECHNIQUES
(To be expanded upon)
 Kazeraishuu Ha ('Sword-Edge Wind Attack'): Makoto's
   stock-standard attack; he slashes out with his sword, making a
   powerful gust of swirling wind shoot out in front of him. The blast
   is fairly wide, at least four feet or so, and can be used in any
   direction.
 Kibakazeken ('Wind Fang Sword'): Makoto quickly slashes the air
   around him into thousands of tiny, jagged fragments, using his chi
   to hold them together, and hurls them at his opponent. The
   individual shards are not very damaging, but it's nearly impossible
   to dodge or block all of them at once.
 Yamase-Tsuuda Tou ('Descending Cold Mountain Wind Crushing Sword'...
   what an ugly translation! ^^;): Makoto plants his sword in the
   ground in front of him, causing a wave of wind to rise up around
   him, curve overhead, and bear down upon his enemy. He can maintain
   the down-draft as long as he is able to concentrate and keep his
   hand on the sword. The force of it would likely crush low-ranked
   fighters, but it doesn't do too much against higher-level
   combatants aside of stopping them from moving much. It can be nasty
   when combined with battlefield debris, though, since the downward
   force makes it very difficult to dodge such items. Makoto usually
   needs his enemy to be a certain distance away before he can use
   this attack, or risk trapping himself in the crush.