Izumi Okazaki is a Rank 1 Ghoul Investigator of the CCG and a member of the Ren Squad. He is also a practitioner of the Niten Ichi Ryu style of kenjutsu (japanese swordsmanship).
Appearance
Izumi looks like a pretty average person in appearance. He stands at 1,78 m of height and has 75kg of weight, with a lean and slightly muscular body.
His hair is medium-sized and black, with a messy look to it. Izumi's face also looks pretty normal, with the exception of his black eyes, which have a sharp look to it, making it seems like he's always staring something down in concentration.
At home, he always wears a kimono, and in the streets, he wears normal looking clothes and pants, with long sleeves and legs, covering all of his body.
Personality
Izumi has a strange personality that most people might find odd at first. Whether it's in his job or a normal situation of his life, he always has a serious expression and talking tone. However, to the surprise of most, he is a kind and sociable person, who enjoys talking to other people. Izumi appears to never lose his calm and composure, even though he might feel nervous or angry inside.
Another important thing about him is that he takes everything that someone says seriously. Most of the time jokes fly over his head, and he can't really tell whether a person is being sarcastic, or even lying. That has already caused many embarrassing moments in his life.
Other than that, Izumi is a very polite person, who places great importance in tradition and dedication to his practice in kenjutsu, always trying to perfect the art that his master taught him.
History
Not much is revealed about Izumi's past before his 10 years of age. He witnessed an accident that resulted in mental trauma, making him unable to sleep well and to show any sign of emotions. Izumi already lived in an orphanage at that point.
This health problem kept on going for weeks, making him suffer hallucinations and a weak body from sleep deprivation without any apparent cure, until Makoto Okazaki, an old man who came to the orphanage to teach kenjutsu to the kids sometimes, found him in that situation and decided to help the boy. He taught Izumi a meditation method which helped him in a big way. It started to take off all the weight and tension off his back, as if in a miracle, gradually helping in his recuperation. After some time guiding the boy, Makoto decided to take Izumi as his son to further assist in his recovery.
Izumi then started life under his guardian, taking his surname and moving to an old traditional japanese house that he owned. Makoto started teaching him the art and philosophies of the Niten Ichi Ryu, a style of kenjutsu created by the greatest swordsman Musashi. As the years went on, Izumi began to recover his mental health and master the way of the sword that his master taught him. However, after seven years Makoto died of old age, leaving the house and all his possessions to Izumi.
He had never thought what he would do in that kind of situation, so in the year after that Izumi aimlessly tried to search for a path that he would like to follow. Not much is know about what happened between the space of time of that and his joining the CCG, but Izumi himself doesn't like to remember certain things he has done during that period.
Powers and Abilities
Niten Ichi Ryu: Consists on a kenjutsu style created by Miyamoto Musashi, which main traits are the use of strategy against the opponent and of two swords, a katana (long sword) and a wakizashi (short sword), in each hand, making it suitable for fighting against many opponents at the same time.
Strategic Mind: As by the teachings of his master, Izumi has learned how to use strategies in both his personal battles and on the wider battlefield. That being so, he likes to make plans against each of his enemies and to exploit and discover their weaknesses and abilities.
Decisive and Fast Kenjutsu: Izumi's main trait in a fight is fast and decisive strikes against his enemy with the sword. He counts on that ability to be able to end the fight with the least possible amount of moves, surprising and overwhelming his opponent with his sword blows. However, due to Izumi's own health and the taxing amount of energy required of this style, he is not suited to fight drawn out battles.
- Strengths: With all his training and quick reflexes, Izumi makes for a very fast and expert sword user, being able to deal deadly and precise strikes against his enemies, and managing to dodge and keep up against faster opponents. His martial training also made him a good strategist, which helps him in planning against others and exploiting their weaknesses.
- Weaknesses: Due to health problems, Izumi's stamina is not able to keep up in long fights, which makes durable opponents that might drag out the battle not the best match for him.
Quinque
Paiko & Peiko
Type: Rinkaku
Appearance: Paiko remembers a katana, though a little bit bigger than normal, with a blade of 90cm, and a slightly larger width. The weapon is segmented, divided in 8 parts with a light violet color to it. The handle is simply black with some materials that facilitate the grip, and it doesn't have a guard. Along the cutting edge, there are spikes which point downwards in an angle with the blade, one for each part. It's counterpart, Peiko, is modeled after a wakizashi but also a bit bigger than normal, though smaller than Paiko, with a blade length of 70cm. Other than that the second blade is also identical to Paiko, though it is divided in 7 parts rather than 8.
Strengths: Suited for close combat and quick strikes, the swords' spikes allow the user to rip apart a ghoul's kagune and body more easily, making for an effective offensive quinque.
Weaknesses: Though it can be used to parry strikes, the swords are not really useful in blocking direct hits, as the blade structure is segmented and may break apart against a strong attack, making it not the most durable quinque.
Mechanics: As it resides on a case, the swords are folded in its parts, resting side to side. However, as the case opens and the pressure is released it quickly hardens the material that connects these parts, straightening the swords, and transforming them into a whole blade. Other than that, the use for the swords is pretty straight forward.
Threads
OBS: They are organized by the order they were posted.
| Thread Link | Thread Type | Thread Description |
|---|---|---|
| The Newcomers — CCG | Arc | Izumi graduates and has his first training as a CCG investigator. |
| The New Blade | Oneshot | Where Izumi received his first quinque. |
| Teachings of a Warrior | Oneshot | Where Izumi pondered upon his master teachings. |
| Bloody Sword | Oneshot | Izumi's memories of the first time he killed someone in a fight. |
| Raiding the Railroad | Arc | Izumi is partnered with Kosei Waller to defend the CCG's material against a ghoul raid. Though they managed to get by without losing their lives, the ghouls were able to escape with the shipment. |
| The "Friend" | Oneshot | Izumi meets with a friend from his past. |
| Wintetide - Hospital Raid | Arc | Izumi was assigned to the operation to defend the hospital from a ghoul raid and found himself cooperating with his squad leader, Ren Kawaguchi. Later in the operation, he faced off against a heavily wounded Kotome Nene. Though he managed to defeat the ghoul, Maki Itokawa ended up rescuing him and escaping. |
Relantionships
WIP
Trivia
- Izumi always has his steel wakizashi with him anywhere he goes. Anywhere, at all times.
- He rarely sleeps. Instead, he meditates to get rid of the fatigue.
- Izumi is not only an expert in swordsmanship, but he also is well practiced in traditional penmanship. He likes to write with an old style in scrolls about many subjects or quotes that he finds interesting.
- Izumi enjoys talking about philosophical subjects.