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general | SYNOPSIS.
SYNOPSIS
Toutoh is a country that glimmers, pressurized and hewn like a gemstone birthed from rock. And in the Third Toutoh Empire, the law is absolute, a mounting for this jewel. Having forded its share of wars and civil unrest, Toutoh's crime rate escalated drastically. To combat this issue, those in power established unorthodox practices - namely, the Rationalization of a Trial (ROT) Act. Under this act, criminals could be tried and sentenced to the death penalty absentee. The prisons and courts had complete control over this sentencing, and so a special military force was created with the jurisdiction to investigate condemned criminals as well as carry out their sentence.
This was the Special Executions Police Force, colloquially known as the Tokkei. In tandem with the Tokkei are Clown, the Emperor's covert information network, and Toutoh's Metropolitan Police Department. The three factions co-exist uneasily, each one operating indepedently from the others in their bid to control the city's violent abuse of rapid advancement in both technology and medicine.
Weak at its social crux, Toutoh's turmoil began with its Emperor's bid for longevity. In his youth, he had geneticists clone him so that he would have like-minded heirs. This produced twins, Tokio and Tokiya Sakurazawa. He also had a clone made of his right-hand man, Kyousuke Kamijou, citing his unparalleled fighting ability would make the perfect soldier - killing machine, doll - to protect him and his empire. This was Shouta Mikoshiba. These children were kept in an underground garden until they were old enough to be mentally controlled and implemented into the Emperor's society. Tokio and Tokiya, seeing the state of the Empire and its infighting over its own justice system, began to form their own plan when they came of age. The Emperor was a man who had clawed his way to power by brute force, and so too were the twins, choosing to turn their instinct for destruction back on their creator and work in the shadows to create a new empire.
Brigade 0 preceded the official formation of the Tokkei by two years. It comprised of Captain Kyousuke Kamijou, Tokio Sakurazawa, Kosaku Moribe (another Emperor clone), and Mikami Tatsuto and Sakyou Igarashi, two men who later went on to become the Department Head and Intelligence Director of the Tokkei, respectively. Before they were given the right to perform executions, Brigade 0 slaughtered several influential families and figureheads who opposed the creation of the ROT Act, many of which were the parents of children who would later be manipulated into enlisting with the Tokkei. With his opposition destroyed, the Emperor placed Tokiya into Clown and Tokio into the Tokkei, intending for them to be his eyes and ears. However, the two engaged in dissident activities, murdering any who spied on them. Tokio, as Captain of the Tokkei, killed too many of his comrades and was discovered by the Emperor, leading to his execution order. Shouta, then nineteen and Tokio's partner, carried out this order. It was a betrayal that would alter the course of his life forever, placing him at the top of Tokkei in Tokio's stead. Tokiya, aware of his impending punishment, used this event as a springboard and won Kyousuke Kamijou to his side in working against the Emperor. Kyousuke, whose family had been torn apart by the Emperor in an effort to keep Kyousuke at his side, agreed to playing the intermediary, and both disappeared into the underbelly of the Empire.
In the wake of the order to take his partner's life, Shouta was left bereaved and in the dark about the circumstances that lead to his decision. His superiors kept him larely unaware of what Tokio's true nature was, opting to let Shouta believe he was part of Clown, that everything he'd experienced with Tokio was a lie. Left at the lonely summit of one of the most powerful organizations in Toutoh before the age of twenty, Shouta took to his new role vehemently and with tunnel vision, forcing himself out onto the streets to complete missions before recovering from the altercation with Tokio. He stated that he didn't need another partner - he would represent the First Brigade on his own. Only a trial by fire in which he'd continuously endangered his life made him aware of the fact that he didn't care if he lived or died, having thrown away what was most important to him with his own two hands. It left him questioning the justice he'd worked so hard to uphold.
His turning point was a chance reunion with a police inspector by the name of Tamao Hasui. In his youth, Shouta had been sent to live with Tamao's family, and the two were fast friends. This arrangement was short-lived, however, when the Emperor had Tamao's family executed and their house burned down when it came time to collect Shouta and induct him into the Tokkei. Tamao's father, a decorated police officer, opposed the ROT Act, and so fell prey to the Emperor's desire for an iron grip on his city. Shouta remembers little of the incident, save for the fire and the boy who disappeared into it. Their meeting had them on opposite sides of the law, and so their working relationship was no different, incendiary and at odds. Despite this, Shouta managed to track Tamao down outside of their loyalty to their agencies, not as the Captain of the Tokkei, but as his old friend. Once reunited, they moved in together, and Shouta selfishly kept his identity as a Tokkei from Tamao. Tamao was, after all, his last bet on whether there was any merit in living. This relationship saw him through the next five years, where he reoriented himself in his work, striving to not be the perfect soldier for the Tokkei, but a thinking, feeling human being leading its ranks. He took this unorthodox rationale forward with him and into the killing business, eventually earning the love and loyalty of two teammates: Seiju Shikibu and Usaki Toudou. Together, they formed a completed First Brigade, and maintained the 100% success rate Shouta had been so infamous for.
None the wiser for who or what he was, he chose to still believe that there were things he was meant to do, and lived as best he could while balancing all these fragile pieces. Tokiya and Kyousuke likewise continued to operate in the shadows of the destiny they'd chosen for him, orchestrating every move that would eventually break his foundations once and for all and deliver him fully into their plans.
Their revolution began as a small seed. Acting as a unifying force among terrorist groups opposed to the Tokkei, they manipulated the children of the families they had murdered all those years before, exploiting their profound tragedies and mental instability to lead the public's mistrust of the monarchy towards the Tokkei. Tokiya's plan involved everyone - Kyousuke, Mikami, Igarashi, even the Head Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Only one last person remained: a sacrifice.
Shouta, having lied and been lied to, bearing immense responsibility, and witnessing more death than anyone, consented to being the catalyst for the most peaceful revolution possible, wherein there were only two deaths. All in exchange for the safety and happiness of Toutoh's citizens and his loved ones. As Captain of the Tokkei, Shouta assassinated the Emperor under Tokiya's orders. Acting as a symbol of the Tokkei, bearers of the ROT Act and rebels against the law, he allowed himself to be executed for his treason and marked the end of the Third Toutoh Empire and the Tokkei.
This was the Special Executions Police Force, colloquially known as the Tokkei. In tandem with the Tokkei are Clown, the Emperor's covert information network, and Toutoh's Metropolitan Police Department. The three factions co-exist uneasily, each one operating indepedently from the others in their bid to control the city's violent abuse of rapid advancement in both technology and medicine.
Weak at its social crux, Toutoh's turmoil began with its Emperor's bid for longevity. In his youth, he had geneticists clone him so that he would have like-minded heirs. This produced twins, Tokio and Tokiya Sakurazawa. He also had a clone made of his right-hand man, Kyousuke Kamijou, citing his unparalleled fighting ability would make the perfect soldier - killing machine, doll - to protect him and his empire. This was Shouta Mikoshiba. These children were kept in an underground garden until they were old enough to be mentally controlled and implemented into the Emperor's society. Tokio and Tokiya, seeing the state of the Empire and its infighting over its own justice system, began to form their own plan when they came of age. The Emperor was a man who had clawed his way to power by brute force, and so too were the twins, choosing to turn their instinct for destruction back on their creator and work in the shadows to create a new empire.
Brigade 0 preceded the official formation of the Tokkei by two years. It comprised of Captain Kyousuke Kamijou, Tokio Sakurazawa, Kosaku Moribe (another Emperor clone), and Mikami Tatsuto and Sakyou Igarashi, two men who later went on to become the Department Head and Intelligence Director of the Tokkei, respectively. Before they were given the right to perform executions, Brigade 0 slaughtered several influential families and figureheads who opposed the creation of the ROT Act, many of which were the parents of children who would later be manipulated into enlisting with the Tokkei. With his opposition destroyed, the Emperor placed Tokiya into Clown and Tokio into the Tokkei, intending for them to be his eyes and ears. However, the two engaged in dissident activities, murdering any who spied on them. Tokio, as Captain of the Tokkei, killed too many of his comrades and was discovered by the Emperor, leading to his execution order. Shouta, then nineteen and Tokio's partner, carried out this order. It was a betrayal that would alter the course of his life forever, placing him at the top of Tokkei in Tokio's stead. Tokiya, aware of his impending punishment, used this event as a springboard and won Kyousuke Kamijou to his side in working against the Emperor. Kyousuke, whose family had been torn apart by the Emperor in an effort to keep Kyousuke at his side, agreed to playing the intermediary, and both disappeared into the underbelly of the Empire.
In the wake of the order to take his partner's life, Shouta was left bereaved and in the dark about the circumstances that lead to his decision. His superiors kept him larely unaware of what Tokio's true nature was, opting to let Shouta believe he was part of Clown, that everything he'd experienced with Tokio was a lie. Left at the lonely summit of one of the most powerful organizations in Toutoh before the age of twenty, Shouta took to his new role vehemently and with tunnel vision, forcing himself out onto the streets to complete missions before recovering from the altercation with Tokio. He stated that he didn't need another partner - he would represent the First Brigade on his own. Only a trial by fire in which he'd continuously endangered his life made him aware of the fact that he didn't care if he lived or died, having thrown away what was most important to him with his own two hands. It left him questioning the justice he'd worked so hard to uphold.
His turning point was a chance reunion with a police inspector by the name of Tamao Hasui. In his youth, Shouta had been sent to live with Tamao's family, and the two were fast friends. This arrangement was short-lived, however, when the Emperor had Tamao's family executed and their house burned down when it came time to collect Shouta and induct him into the Tokkei. Tamao's father, a decorated police officer, opposed the ROT Act, and so fell prey to the Emperor's desire for an iron grip on his city. Shouta remembers little of the incident, save for the fire and the boy who disappeared into it. Their meeting had them on opposite sides of the law, and so their working relationship was no different, incendiary and at odds. Despite this, Shouta managed to track Tamao down outside of their loyalty to their agencies, not as the Captain of the Tokkei, but as his old friend. Once reunited, they moved in together, and Shouta selfishly kept his identity as a Tokkei from Tamao. Tamao was, after all, his last bet on whether there was any merit in living. This relationship saw him through the next five years, where he reoriented himself in his work, striving to not be the perfect soldier for the Tokkei, but a thinking, feeling human being leading its ranks. He took this unorthodox rationale forward with him and into the killing business, eventually earning the love and loyalty of two teammates: Seiju Shikibu and Usaki Toudou. Together, they formed a completed First Brigade, and maintained the 100% success rate Shouta had been so infamous for.
None the wiser for who or what he was, he chose to still believe that there were things he was meant to do, and lived as best he could while balancing all these fragile pieces. Tokiya and Kyousuke likewise continued to operate in the shadows of the destiny they'd chosen for him, orchestrating every move that would eventually break his foundations once and for all and deliver him fully into their plans.
Their revolution began as a small seed. Acting as a unifying force among terrorist groups opposed to the Tokkei, they manipulated the children of the families they had murdered all those years before, exploiting their profound tragedies and mental instability to lead the public's mistrust of the monarchy towards the Tokkei. Tokiya's plan involved everyone - Kyousuke, Mikami, Igarashi, even the Head Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Only one last person remained: a sacrifice.
Shouta, having lied and been lied to, bearing immense responsibility, and witnessing more death than anyone, consented to being the catalyst for the most peaceful revolution possible, wherein there were only two deaths. All in exchange for the safety and happiness of Toutoh's citizens and his loved ones. As Captain of the Tokkei, Shouta assassinated the Emperor under Tokiya's orders. Acting as a symbol of the Tokkei, bearers of the ROT Act and rebels against the law, he allowed himself to be executed for his treason and marked the end of the Third Toutoh Empire and the Tokkei.
PERSONALITY
Shouta works with death and thinks with his heart. There's something to be said for an enigma with his soul on his sleeve, an executioner who praises the merit of human lives.
To that end, he's an unorthodox figurehead. His responsibility towards his comrades, his job, and those he protects is iron-clad, but he's far from anyone's soldier, anyone's doll. In his mission to ensure that the Tokkei, or his Brigade, at the very least, aren't viewed as emotionless killers, Shouta goes to great lengths to get things done according to his own sense of justice. Putting stress on his superiors, he accomplishes things his way - he's selective about orders and frequently tosses his organization's rulebook. The upper stratum of Tokkei coveting his rank often point out he's someone to commands unfair treatment, given he's never punished for his cavalier nature. It's bred in him an obstinance that can be viewed as arrogant and self-indulgent. Shouta smartly preserves his position with raw skill - he might seem hot-headed and artless, but he's never off his beat, years in the business giving him an incredible eye for detail and a quick-witted, discerning nature. These tendencies of his tend to make people underestimate his prowess, giving him an impossibly clever upper hand right out of the starting gate. Those after his life often think he'll be an easier mark for his attitude.
However, Shouta knows better than anyone the humanity necessary to kill for a living. It's why he can look at grisly crimes and monsters wearing human skin day after day and not let himself become numb to the tragedy. He knows personal justice by having betrayed it, he knows loss by having failed the most important person in his life. All because he put orders above the way he felt, which is more unforgivable to him than any crime. Despite his pride in a job well done, Shouta is both hypocritically obsessed and resigned to the bitterness he feels over his job's exploitation of his tragedy. He refuses to forget, to forgive, and most of all, to give up.
His dedication to being human first stems from executing his partner. With completing the job and carrying out an order his only measure of justice at the time, he killed the person most dear to him, whose side he felt he belonged at. Shouta lives haunted by this memory, vulnerable to the questions it raises about his integrity as a person. It leaves him easily agitated and defensive over this one weakness in his charisma, making him bear an isolated, violent apathy for his own life. He tells himself he did the right thing, but he doesn't believe it. So he strives as a leader to prevent all the lower tiers of his comrades from making the same mistakes. Do as I say - his golden rule, despite the complexity of not having much respect for authority himself. Shouta is a person who knows how to navigate a human heart, and uses this talent freely to maneuver situations around in such a way that everyone is satisfied.
Outside of being a figurehead and among his friends of the First Brigade, he has a few sides to him. Normally, Shouta is full of weary, boyish charm. Fearless and compelling, he has a distinct magnetism to him despite his mouthiness and his short temper. He loves to tease and push buttons, to get a rise out of people to see how their colors shine, whether by duress or affection. He returns these tendencies tenfold, also - he reacts strongly to being questioned, teased, or toyed with. By the same measure, he's intelligent and perceptive in his pestering, as willing to give a word of advice or a smack upside the head as he is a listening ear or a sturdy place to rest. To be someone's anchor or their sense of right and wrong or up and down is an accomplishment he can hold in no higher regard. He seems to instinctively know what people want or need, and goes through great measures to ensure they have it.
Over the course of the series, this tendency of his does succumb to his darker urges once things begin to pull apart at their seams. Shouta keeps himself together because in his eyes, he's what keeps everything else together. But he patches himself up with unhealthy outlets like alcohol, and his self-doubt rises up in PTSD-style episodes and nightmares, encouraged by the constant tampering with his memories via covert sedatives and surgeries. When he's forced to face personal tragedies with no immediate solution, his mind wanders to the lowest realm of self-confidence - one that entertains whether or not his own death would benefit everyone, in the long run. That's how much of a crux he believes he is, the weight of the responsibility he feels he shoulders.
In spite of his rough edges and the nightmares that linger on his head that seem to be guiding him towards an edge he won't let anyone else near, his heart is always in the right place.
At his best, he's the only friend and ally you'll ever need. At his worst, you'll be staring down the barrel of a .50cal Desert Eagle.
To that end, he's an unorthodox figurehead. His responsibility towards his comrades, his job, and those he protects is iron-clad, but he's far from anyone's soldier, anyone's doll. In his mission to ensure that the Tokkei, or his Brigade, at the very least, aren't viewed as emotionless killers, Shouta goes to great lengths to get things done according to his own sense of justice. Putting stress on his superiors, he accomplishes things his way - he's selective about orders and frequently tosses his organization's rulebook. The upper stratum of Tokkei coveting his rank often point out he's someone to commands unfair treatment, given he's never punished for his cavalier nature. It's bred in him an obstinance that can be viewed as arrogant and self-indulgent. Shouta smartly preserves his position with raw skill - he might seem hot-headed and artless, but he's never off his beat, years in the business giving him an incredible eye for detail and a quick-witted, discerning nature. These tendencies of his tend to make people underestimate his prowess, giving him an impossibly clever upper hand right out of the starting gate. Those after his life often think he'll be an easier mark for his attitude.
However, Shouta knows better than anyone the humanity necessary to kill for a living. It's why he can look at grisly crimes and monsters wearing human skin day after day and not let himself become numb to the tragedy. He knows personal justice by having betrayed it, he knows loss by having failed the most important person in his life. All because he put orders above the way he felt, which is more unforgivable to him than any crime. Despite his pride in a job well done, Shouta is both hypocritically obsessed and resigned to the bitterness he feels over his job's exploitation of his tragedy. He refuses to forget, to forgive, and most of all, to give up.
His dedication to being human first stems from executing his partner. With completing the job and carrying out an order his only measure of justice at the time, he killed the person most dear to him, whose side he felt he belonged at. Shouta lives haunted by this memory, vulnerable to the questions it raises about his integrity as a person. It leaves him easily agitated and defensive over this one weakness in his charisma, making him bear an isolated, violent apathy for his own life. He tells himself he did the right thing, but he doesn't believe it. So he strives as a leader to prevent all the lower tiers of his comrades from making the same mistakes. Do as I say - his golden rule, despite the complexity of not having much respect for authority himself. Shouta is a person who knows how to navigate a human heart, and uses this talent freely to maneuver situations around in such a way that everyone is satisfied.
Outside of being a figurehead and among his friends of the First Brigade, he has a few sides to him. Normally, Shouta is full of weary, boyish charm. Fearless and compelling, he has a distinct magnetism to him despite his mouthiness and his short temper. He loves to tease and push buttons, to get a rise out of people to see how their colors shine, whether by duress or affection. He returns these tendencies tenfold, also - he reacts strongly to being questioned, teased, or toyed with. By the same measure, he's intelligent and perceptive in his pestering, as willing to give a word of advice or a smack upside the head as he is a listening ear or a sturdy place to rest. To be someone's anchor or their sense of right and wrong or up and down is an accomplishment he can hold in no higher regard. He seems to instinctively know what people want or need, and goes through great measures to ensure they have it.
Over the course of the series, this tendency of his does succumb to his darker urges once things begin to pull apart at their seams. Shouta keeps himself together because in his eyes, he's what keeps everything else together. But he patches himself up with unhealthy outlets like alcohol, and his self-doubt rises up in PTSD-style episodes and nightmares, encouraged by the constant tampering with his memories via covert sedatives and surgeries. When he's forced to face personal tragedies with no immediate solution, his mind wanders to the lowest realm of self-confidence - one that entertains whether or not his own death would benefit everyone, in the long run. That's how much of a crux he believes he is, the weight of the responsibility he feels he shoulders.
In spite of his rough edges and the nightmares that linger on his head that seem to be guiding him towards an edge he won't let anyone else near, his heart is always in the right place.
At his best, he's the only friend and ally you'll ever need. At his worst, you'll be staring down the barrel of a .50cal Desert Eagle.