Personality[]
Masaru can be described in one word: magnetic. He is the type of person who smiles regardless of the situation, and his laughter often fills an entire room with a sense of warmth and security that he exudes. Despite his towering figure and his status as a yakuza, Masaru is known to charm just about anyone, and he does what he can to look out for his peers. Among the most social of the interns, Masaru is known to arrange the most after-work parties using his extravagant wealth as the son to the Toragumi’s oyabun.
Masaru tries to mediate conflict with his upbeat and outgoing personality, but that doesn’t mean he’s not willing to fight. On the contrary, his favorite activity is having a good spar, and he lives for the thrill of a challenge. His addiction to adrenaline often leads to him being restless, so he is frequently active, running throughout the city, wrestling and picking fights, and partying here and there. At first glance, it would appear that very little could bother him, but Masaru is actually somewhat claustrophobic. Any confined area where he must remain or be constrained can set him into a panic, so given an excuse to escape the confined city for the vast and unexplored Overgrowth, he is more than eager to take it.
Appearance[]
When restricted by public appearances, Masaru’s style is extremely casual. Typically, he’s seen wearing a silky, hot pink designer button-up shirt with the top and cuff buttons undone for easy removal. He wears a gold chain with an antique 4 mon coin (Kanei Tsuho) around his neck that doubles as a collar when he transforms. Masaru’s pants are pale blue designer slacks personally tailored for his extraordinary height, and he wears a white belt with gold hardware, black socks, and white and silver-tone wingtips. He wears his long orange hair shaggy and over his yellow eyes, which are rarely seen. The tattoo inked on his back is of a menacing orange tiger ascending the side of a mountain and surrounded by pink sakura petals.
History[]
Masaru was born to one of Shou Toragumi’s many lovers. After giving birth to Masaru, she forced Shou to take responsibility for having impregnated her, leaving their son to be raised in the yakuza, which she wanted no part in. Though Shou is known to have a number of illegitimate children, Masaru is the only one he raised, and he did so alongside his childhood friend, Kanami Tatsugumi, and her son, Senjou, who had been born a few months before Masaru.
Masaru and Senjou grew up together like brothers while the bond between their two families was still honored. They went to school together and were both selected by Kusari to be among the first students enrolled at Hanasaka Academy. The two constantly competed with one another by wrestling and various competitions, but Masaru was always the stronger of the two. However, he always lacked the heart to truly overpower his best friend and held back his final blow, much to Senjou’s chagrin. Despite this friction, the two have always been thick as thieves.
Masaru’s father, Shou, served as the second-in-command of the Toragumi next to his older brother, Ikaku, and due to his slightly wilder and carefree outlook on life, he rarely left Masaru with responsibilities at home. This allowed him a lot of initial freedom and led to him inheriting his father’s own easygoing and flirtatious personality, but when Ikaku’s affair with Kanami was discovered, a rift between the Toragumi and the Tatsugumi caused a diametric shift in the status quo of Masaru’s home life.
Ikaku was exiled from Chuushu, sentenced to the Overgrowth, and Shou was promoted to become head of the family, reining in his party lifestyle as he took over all of his brother’s old responsibilities. In order to not damage the family’s reputation further, Shou had to come down harder on his son, forbidding him from continuing his friendship with Senjou publicly.
Masaru was not one to listen to authority, however, and he only barely made an effort to keep his distance for Senjou’s sake. To keep the two of them together, Okuda arranged an after-school program at Hanasaka for them to train with one another, and Masaru eagerly agreed to take the internship at Koukai to be able to hang out with his best friend.
For as long as he could remember, Masaru’s entire life had been shaped and framed by the actions of people around him. He lived his life passively and became addicted to thrills and the rush of adrenaline he got from fighting, which was the only time he ever found himself experiencing true joy. Now, with his friendship forbidden by their families, there is an added layer of excitement to fighting Senjou, and he uses their fights to experience that freedom he has since lost.
Powers & Abilities[]
Masaru’s Reflection is named Jinmen Juushin (人面獣心), allowing Masaru to transform into the tiger tattooed onto his back. Using special ink made with Ayakashi blood, getting the tattoo is a process that puts the life of the owner at risk, a trial of pain and willpower that ensures only the strong can wield such power. This process is entirely artificial and such a Reflection is not natural, but can only be earned with a strong body and mind. Masaru’s transformation can entail either a full transformation or a partial transformation, allowing him to keep his human form and martial style while having powerful claws.