Hideo Aratami
"I guess I need to teach you a lesson, huh?"
| Hideo Aratami | |
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| Personal Information | |
| Arcana | Reversed Star |
| Nature | Shadow-Possessed |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 15 |
| Birth Date | April 9 |
| Preferred Weapon | Staves |
| Organization Information | |
| Faction | Strega |
| Job | Knight of Sevens |
| Divisions | Kasugayama High |
| Assignment | First Year |
| Shadow - Galahad | |
| OOC Information | |
| Origin | Original Character |
| Voice Actor | Seki Tomokazu |
Contents |
Profile
It wasn't too long ago that Hideo Aratami was known as an idiot first year, throwing himself into danger to protect students weaker than him and showing a blatant disregard for common sense and safety alike. Something about him has changed since he first started school, though. He's grown distant, almost apathetic to those around him. Though he still intercedes on behalf of the bullied he's quicker to take charge of situations than he is to sacrifice himself and he no longer seems to take pride in his accomplishments. The image change has done wonders for his social status, although at the same time it makes him rather difficult to approach.
Skills
Don't Speak And Carry A Big Stick, Never Say Die, Falling Star, Cool And Aloof, Tatsuya Imitator, The Purest Of Hearts, What Is Love?, Shattered Idealist, Grey Knight, There's Nothing Lonelier Than A Hero, Beneath The Mask Is...
Shadow
Hideo's Shadow is Galahad, the Holiest Knight and bearer of the Grail. In the TV World it manifested as a being composed of the trappings of piety and legend but no real substance. Once it took over Hideo's body it spilled its cup, metaphorically speaking. A shining halo forms around Hideo's head while oily black water, the contents of a tainted Grail, pours from his hands and feet and pools around him. He appears to be in control of the water, able to channel it into other people offensively, raise and solidify it into protective shells and ride around with it wrapped around his legs like some manner of serpent, but closer inspection reveals that the shadow is constantly trying to drag him down into it and consume him.
| Power | Description |
| Aqua | Small water damage to one target. |
| Fatal End | Small slash damage to one target. |
| Hama | Small light damage to one target. |
| Heaven's Sword | Slash and light damage to one target. |
| Light Amp | Increased power for light element attacks. |
| Light Weapon | Light attribute applied to free attacks. |
| Mahama | Small light damage to a group. |
| Still Waters | Removes positive status effects and deals small water damage to one target. |
| Seven of Grails | Strike and water damage to a group. |
| Knight of Grails | The ultimate expression of a crusader's conviction. |
Physical Attack and Special
| Power | Description |
| Strike Attack - Staffs | Minor strike damage to one target. |
| Orbital Dropkick | Massive strike damage to one target. |
Recovered Emotions
Hideo's Shadow is relatively unique in that rather than embrace a particular negative aspect of himself it rejects every aspect. It cares about nothing short of fulfilling the purpose which has been assigned to it, which at the moment is doing whatever Takaya orders and aiding in the summoning of Nyx to the best of his abilities. There is no such thing as an emotionless person, however, for those people who are truly separated from their souls fall prey to Apathy Syndrome. Hideo's emotions are buried deep within himself, unrecognized by his Ego and denied by his Id. As he forges bonds with people those bits and pieces of the true Hideo are drawn out, one emotion at a time. If anything is going to cure his Shadow-possession it will be convincing him that he's not just a character in a story grander than himself but a person in his own right with people he cares about and people who care about him in kind.
Anger: Itsuka Mizuhara - The first person Hideo thought he could form a real bond with. She almost immediately rejected him and, in his mind, threw herself into the arms of the closest warm body. A liar and a whore as far as Hideo is concerned, the fact that she suddenly seems apologetic for the events that have transpired since his Shadow-Possession makes him loath her even more.
Jealousy: Shiki Ichimonji - The boy who "took" Itsuka away. Hideo respects Shiki for the boy's strong conviction to the things he holds dear while simultaneously hating him for not just dating Itsuka but managing to keep her. Hideo desperately wants to know what the difference between the two of them is because as far as he can tell they're almost the same, just with wildly different outcomes from the same series of events.
Pre-MUSH History
As a young child Hideo was relatively advanced for his age. He excelled in maths and sciences, at least insofar as a child young enough that he can still count his age on his hands can be, and was quick to pick up new concepts. He led a carefree life in Lunarvale with his salaryman father and housewife mother.
One evening when his parents went out for a romantic evening they were accosted by a junkie who held them up at knife point. A combination of preexisting mental instability and withdrawal-wracked nerves led the man to become violent and in the ensuing scuffle he killed both of his victims. When the news was broken to Hideo the next day that he would never see his parents again he quickly put two and two together and the realization broke him. The intelligent, outgoing young boy became little more than a doll, unwilling or unable to speak or interact with anyone more than was absolutely necessary.
His grandparents in Sumaru City were the closest relatives willing to take him in, and try as they might they were unable to get him to come out of his shell. The boy was left to his own devices, which on most days involved sitting by himself in front of the TV. It was here that he encountered Phoenix Ranger Featherman, a popular and long-running transforming superhero show. No matter what trials the Rangers faced, no matter how serious, they were always able to conquer their enemies within half an hour (or sixty minutes for two part specials). They were heroes who didn't let the unpleasantness of reality get to them no matter how many times they were beaten or how unfair the world was. This, Hideo realized, was what he wanted to aspire to be: a hero who could save the world and not be bothered by anything.
His second transformation was as swift as the first: he went from antisocial mute to ever-cheerful little snot practically overnight. His therapists were surprised but ultimately declared he had finished grieving and was ready to move on with his life. He would wear the mask of a Phoenix Ranger, never allowing himself to get close enough to anything to get hurt but always willing to step in to save the day no matter what the personal cost.
MUSH Events
Entrance to the World of Persona
Hideo advanced to high school without incident, aside from the odd asskicking he received from overestimating his abilities to fight off people several times his size. He was content to continue in his old role of would-be hero until one day in October. He had been visiting his parents' graves in Lunarvale when he got lost in his thoughts and wandered into a large fight between SEES and Strega. Not knowing what was going on and catching sight of weapons ranging from pipes and sticks to swords and revolvers he nonetheless charged into the conflict, sneaking onto the catwalks of the warehouse above the fight and encountering his first Shadow: Tomomi Fujimori. She and Momos easily beat him back, all the while grinding into his head how powerless he was for being an ordinary person. Mere minutes after this Minato Arisato had a mental break which temporarily released Thanatos.
Hideo awoke the next morning hiding in a dumpster, pants soiled and nightmares filling his head every time he closed his eyes.
The would-be hero hoped that the previous night's events were just a dream but he wanted to make sure. He went to Port Island to try and track down some of the students whose school uniforms he had recognized as belonging to Gekkoukan High, and in doing so was introduced to Itsuka Mizuhara and the world of Persona. Naturally, his first instinct was to dive headfirst into the war between Persona-users and the Shadow-possessed, little understanding what exactly this would entail. He had his ass handed to him many a time by Shadows but somehow managed to avoid being horribly murdered, though whether it was through blind luck, force of will or an increedibly hard head is anyone's guess. What is for sure is that it WASN'T because of his Persona. Hideo lacked the Potential.
Eventually he took up rumormongering, trying figure out a way to get his own Persona by keeping track of the supernatural events in Sumaru and the surrounding cities as well as Internet boards like Darkside. In addition to meeting often with Itsuka, who misinterpreted his interest in her as wanting to have a relationship, he spoke often with Miwa Saitou, an upperclassman at Seven Sisters who he kenw had a Persona after he defended her from a malicious Shadow-possessed girl, and it was through his conversations with her that he managed to spread several key rumors in Sevens: that the Midnight Channel existed on rainy nights, that people who appeared on it disappeared, and that accepting one's Shadow as a part of oneself brought great power.
Typhoon Nobunaga and the Shadow Knight
In September 2009 a typhoon hit Japan, and in a strange act of coincidence Hideo found himself trapped in Miwa's apartment along with two known SEES members, Itsuka and Shiki Ichimonji. An unfortunate series of events involving an exploratory poke, a wet floor, and a kettle of tea ended with Hideo slipping into Sumaru's Midnight Channel and encountering his own Shadow.
Shadow Hideo was, much like the real Hideo before he started watching sentai shows as a child, little more than a doll. It didn't react to its other self at all, not even to defend itself as Hideo tried to beat the creature into reacting to him and granting him otherworldly power. Days passed before the typhoon died down enough to mount a rescue, and it was at the approach of other people that the Shadow finally broke its silence. It claimed that it did not care about anyone or anything, that it was just playing a part in the grand play of life because it had no meaning of its own anymore. It was a bit player in other people's stories.
Battle ensued as it is prone to when Shadows are involved. The creature revealed its true form as Galahad, the Holiest Knight, and proceeded to try and destroy everything around it so that it could be left alone. Itsuka made the mistake of shouting out how much she cared for Hideo, agitating the Shadow and causing it to try and crush her to death while it shouted that he thought of her as little more than a plaything.
The Shadow was eventually defeated and the rescue team began to pick up the pieces. Akatsuki Enda, who Hideo mistook for his identical twin brother Kyo Enda, tried to help Hideo accept his Shadow as a part of himself and grow past it-- just because he lost so much early in life didn't mean he couldn't forge new, honest bonds now. The boy turned to Itsuka, the girl who had been closest to him in the last few months, with intent to affirm that he wanted to be with her... only to hear her say she wanted nothing to do with him and run into Shiki's arms, kissing the other boy in the middle of the plaza at the center of Hideo's TV World.
Being rejected so harshly just as he was on the cusp of a personal breakthrough sent Hideo spiraling downwards. His Shadow was quick to whisper words of strength in his ear and the hero was weak enough to listen to them, fleeing into the night as he allowed his Id to take over. He showed up at school the next day a changed boy, completely apathetic towards the people and events around him and unnaturally focused upon acts of abuse by his peers. He no longer had a purpose of his own so he accepted the one the school had given him: a champion of the weak who fought those that took advantage of their power.
Probably not by coincidence Hideo soon rescued Toumei Minami from a group of muggers. The boy was a recruiter for Strega who said he could provide a fitting purpose for the errant knight and soon introduced him to the leader of Strega, Takaya Sakaki. He found the man's story compelling and his cause to be just but was still wary of joining the death cult. Once he saw Takaya summon Hypnos through sheer force of will, however, Hideo was convinced. He fell to his knee immediately and pledged himself to the cause of Nyx and the Fall.
Latecomer to Mikage-cho
Hideo accompanied Takaya and several other high-ranking Strega members on a raid of SEBEC headquarters just before the events that created the alternate city of Mikage-cho in Lunarvale. He was immediately distrustful of Takahisa Kandori, especially of his Persona, and wasn't sure what to think of the friendly terms that his savior and that monster of a man seemed to be on. The Strega infiltrators left the scene without incident and escaped the city just before the barrier dome was erected.
Takaya seemed to know too much about the situation in Lunarvale and it put Hideo on edge. He spoke with other Strega members about his concerns and, after a conversation with Tomomi, realized that he was worried about the fate of the people of Lunarvale. Being trapped in limbo with the threat of nuclear holocaust hovering above them was not how he wanted people to exist in his perfect world. Nyx would put everyone into a peaceful, eternal slumber, and the self-proclaimed champion of the night goddess couldn't allow events to transpire any other way. He volunteered to help keep up another Strega member's cover story as a hostage of the cult when rescuers from SEES and the KDA came knocking and in doing so was inadvertently sent into Mikage-cho as well. He soon decided that he would become a hero for the demon-infested world and the first step to doing so would be to challenge its current hero, Dark O.
He arrived at the command center of Rebellion Headquarters mere minutes after the assembled forced of justice did to confront what turned out to be a manifestation of Shiki's personality which Hideo intepretted as a Shadow analogue. He temporarily allied with the forces of justice to take down Dark O, but when he heard words from the part of Shiki that mirrored his own Shadow's words to Itsuka months ago and the wildly different reaction the girl had he reacted violently, letting his instinct take over entirely and going berzerker on Dark O and then the world of Mikage-cho itself. Were it not for the timely intervention of Himeru Namikawa who distracted him and kept him from reaching teh DVA machine he probably would have raced straight to the device which created the demon city and caused terrible things to occur.
