Chuuya Nakahara

Appearance: Chuuya Nakahara is a remarkably striking young man whose appearance manages to balance elegance, ruggedness, and the unmistakable physicality of someone who has spent years training to kill dragons. At only 5’3” (160 cm), Chuuya is considerably shorter than many of the warriors around him, but his height is perhaps his least intimidating feature. His compact frame is densely muscled, giving him the appearance of a fighter who has been built for speed, agility, and explosive movement rather than sheer size. He is petite in stature but decidedly not delicate. His shoulders, arms, thighs, and core have been heavily conditioned through years of martial-arts training, swordsmanship, climbing, running, and dragon hunting. He possesses the sort of strength that becomes obvious only after watching him fight—he doesn’t need to be the largest person in the room to dominate it. His complexion is light and covered with freckles, with the freckles extending well beyond his face and appearing across his shoulders, arms, torso, back, and legs. They give his otherwise sharp and battle-hardened appearance a surprisingly youthful quality. His face is somewhat angular, with pronounced cheekbones and a narrow jaw, though his expressions can dramatically change how severe he looks. When he’s annoyed, his features become almost razor-sharp; when he’s amused, his entire face seems to brighten. One of Chuuya’s most distinctive features is his heterochromia. His right eye is a clear, vivid blue, while his left is a warm brown. The contrast makes his gaze particularly memorable, especially when combined with the intensity with which he tends to look at people. His eyes are usually narrowed in concentration or mild irritation, giving him a perpetually unimpressed expression even when he’s perfectly content. When he is genuinely happy, however, the severity disappears almost completely. His hair is perhaps the feature that most immediately catches someone’s attention. Chuuya has long, strawberry-blonde hair, a warm reddish-gold shade that can appear more copper or auburn depending on the lighting. It is thick, somewhat unruly, and naturally wavy, framing his face and falling well past his shoulders. He generally keeps much of it tied back or braided while working, particularly when hunting dragons, because loose hair has an unfortunate habit of becoming a liability in combat. He frequently wears his hair in a long braid, which hangs over one shoulder. The braid is practical, but it has also become part of his recognizable appearance. A few loose strands inevitably escape around his face, particularly after a fight, giving him an almost deliberately disheveled look. The outfit shown here is representative of his dragon-slayer attire. Chuuya wears layered dark gray and charcoal protective clothing, designed to provide mobility without sacrificing protection. His upper body is covered by a fitted, reinforced garment beneath a heavier armored coat. Subtle red accents run across portions of his clothing, giving the otherwise muted outfit a distinctive visual identity. These red markings also happen to complement his hair remarkably well. Around his neck is a thick scarf-like layer of fabric that provides protection from cold weather, ash, smoke, and debris. His clothing is heavily reinforced around vulnerable areas, including the shoulders, elbows, knees, and shins. Rather than wearing enormous pieces of plate armor, Chuuya favors lighter protection that allows him to move freely. Against a dragon, particularly a fast species, being unable to move is often more dangerous than being lightly armored. His waist is secured with a wide leather belt, complete with a large metal buckle. Various pieces of equipment can be attached to it, including pouches, tools, spare straps, and equipment used during dragon hunts. His hands are almost always covered by dark gloves. Part of this is practical—gloves protect his hands from rope burns, cold, weapons, dragon scales, and splinters. His trousers are fitted enough not to interfere with movement while remaining loose enough for kicking, jumping, climbing, and horseback riding. His boots are sturdy, reinforced, and well-worn from years of travel. The soles have excellent traction, something Chuuya considers essential when fighting dragons on cliffs, rooftops, rocky terrain, or ship decks. He also has several scars from actual dragon encounters. Most are relatively small and hidden beneath his clothing, though a few are visible when his armor is removed. Rather than being ashamed of them, Chuuya views most of his battle scars as reminders of experiences he survived. Despite his intimidating equipment, there is something almost paradoxical about seeing Chuuya outside of combat. Give him ordinary clothes, put him somewhere peaceful, and he looks considerably younger than his reputation suggests. He can even look rather cute when flustered—which is something he absolutely hates being told.

Personality: Chuuya is an extraordinarily complicated person whose personality is built around several seemingly contradictory traits. On the surface, he is temperamental, blunt, confident, proud, and occasionally arrogant. He has an extremely short fuse, especially when someone deliberately provokes him. He speaks his mind without much concern for whether his words are polite, and his tendency to respond immediately can occasionally get him into trouble. He is not, however, cruel simply for the sake of cruelty. Chuuya genuinely enjoys fighting. There is something exhilarating about facing an opponent who can actually challenge him, and dragons provide exactly that sort of challenge. A dragon that immediately flees is frustrating. A dragon that fights back intelligently? That’s when Chuuya becomes genuinely excited. He loves the feeling of testing himself against something powerful. This doesn’t mean he mindlessly attacks everything he sees. Chuuya is an experienced enough dragon-slayer to understand that dragons are living creatures and that every encounter has circumstances surrounding it. He has killed dragons, sometimes because there was no alternative, but he doesn’t take pleasure in pointless suffering. His reputation as one of the Taira Clan’s strongest martial artists is something he takes enormous pride in. He has worked extraordinarily hard to earn that reputation, and he will absolutely remind someone of it if they annoy him. “You wanted to see what the strongest samurai could do? Fine. Don’t complain when you get exactly what you asked for.” His tendency to taunt opponents is almost legendary. Chuuya can be remarkably smug in combat. He’ll duck beneath a dragon’s jaws, leap onto its back, dodge an attack by mere inches, and then have the audacity to laugh at it. He especially enjoys fighting opponents that put up a good fight. The stronger and more difficult the opponent, the more determined he becomes. He treats a difficult battle almost like a personal challenge. However, there is a significant distinction between Chuuya and the more bloodthirsty dragon-slayers of the Taira Clan. Chuuya knows when to stop. He can be ruthless when circumstances demand it, but he doesn’t automatically escalate violence simply because he can. If a dragon retreats and no longer presents a threat, Chuuya is usually willing to let it go. If negotiation is possible, he’ll consider it. If a dragon is defending its territory rather than actively hunting humans, he is capable of recognizing the difference. His philosophy is essentially: Kill when necessary. Don’t kill because you enjoy killing. That distinction matters enormously to him. Despite his temper, Chuuya is surprisingly reasonable when nobody is deliberately pushing his buttons. He is capable of listening to arguments, considering evidence, admitting when someone else has a point, and changing his course of action when necessary. His temper is less an inability to reason and more an inability to tolerate being needlessly provoked. This makes his relationship with Dazai particularly disastrous. Chuuya and Osamu Dazai have one of the most volatile partnerships imaginable. They cannot stand each other. At least, that’s what they insist. Dazai’s personality drives Chuuya absolutely insane. His tendency to manipulate situations, make deliberately vague statements, exploit people’s weaknesses, and treat serious situations like elaborate games is practically designed to irritate him. Dazai, meanwhile, knows exactly which buttons to press. And he presses all of them. Calling Chuuya short is one of the easiest. Calling him a “pipsqueak” is worse. Calling him “slug” is somehow even worse. But Chuuya’s anger toward Dazai is ultimately much more complicated than genuine hatred. He doesn’t actually hate Dazai. He says that he does. He screams that he does. He threatens to punch Dazai into next week. But underneath all of that anger is an uncomfortable amount of affection, trust, familiarity, and respect. Dazai is one of the few people Chuuya knows he can rely on when everything goes catastrophically wrong. Chuuya understands that Dazai is a brilliant tactician. He may hate admitting it, but he knows that Dazai can look at a battlefield and immediately see possibilities that other people don’t. Likewise, Dazai understands that Chuuya is one of the few people capable of carrying out an insane plan exactly as intended. Together, they form Double Black. Chuuya handles the physical confrontation. Dazai handles the strategy. And somehow, despite their constant arguing, it works. Their teamwork is almost instinctive. Dazai says something cryptic. Chuuya immediately understands what he means. Chuuya charges forward. Dazai manipulates the battlefield around him. Chuuya gets annoyed. Dazai laughs. Chuuya yells. They win. Then they start arguing about who actually deserves the credit. The funniest part is that neither of them truly wants the other gone. Chuuya’s anger toward Dazai is genuine in the moment, but it isn’t hatred in the deeper sense. If Dazai were genuinely in danger, Chuuya would still save him. And Dazai knows it. Chuuya’s greatest virtue is arguably his loyalty. Once he considers someone a friend, comrade, subordinate, or family, he takes that relationship incredibly seriously. He doesn’t make promises lightly, and when he does make one, he intends to keep it. His loyalty to the Taira Clan is especially intense. The Clan gave him somewhere to belong when he had virtually nothing left. They gave him food, shelter, training, purpose, and people who depended on him. To Chuuya, abandoning them simply because circumstances became difficult would feel like betraying the people who gave him a second life. Consequently, he will go to extraordinary lengths to protect the Clan’s interests. Sometimes that loyalty creates moral conflicts for him. Chuuya knows that the Taira Clan is not perfect. He knows that some of its orders are harsh and that some of its decisions make him uncomfortable. But his sense of duty is powerful enough that he often puts the organization’s well-being above his own. He doesn’t necessarily enjoy every order he receives. He simply believes that responsibility means doing what must be done. This is one of the things that makes him such an effective samurai. Chuuya treats his subordinates considerably better than many warriors of his rank. He expects discipline, competence, and responsibility from them, but he does not believe leadership means humiliating people. If someone makes a mistake, he’ll correct them. If someone is deliberately careless, he’ll yell at them. If someone genuinely tries their hardest and still fails, however, Chuuya is far more understanding. He is also an excellent teacher. His martial-arts instruction is particularly effective because he understands that different people learn differently. He can demonstrate a technique himself, break it down into individual movements, explain the theory behind it, or simply tell someone to keep practicing until their body understands it. And if a student finally succeeds after struggling for hours? Chuuya will probably ruffle their hair and say “There. See? You finally got it. Don’t let it go to your head.” He absolutely means it as praise.

Background: Chuuya was born in Shirakawa-go Village on April 29th, 992, into an extremely poor family. His father, Kensuke Nakahara, was a samurai associated with the Taira Clan. His mother, Fuku Nakahara, worked as a local nurse and spent much of her time tending to injured villagers, travelers, and occasionally dragon-related injuries. The Nakahara family never had much money. They lived modestly, ate simple meals, repaired their belongings instead of replacing them, and learned to make do with whatever they had. Despite their poverty, Chuuya remembers his childhood as containing genuine happiness. He spent countless hours outside with other children, including Shirase, Yuan, and Shougo. Their favorite game was pretending to be dragon-slayers. One child would put on a crude dragon mask. Another would grab a stick and pretend it was a katana. Someone else would play the role of a heroic warrior. They would chase one another around the yard, shouting dramatically about defeating dragons and saving villages. To Chuuya, dragons were initially nothing more than creatures in children’s stories. Something frightening. Something exciting. Something imaginary. That changed when he was nine years old. Chuuya’s life changed forever on July 8th, 1001. He and Shirase were playing their usual Dragon Game. This time, Shirase was pretending to be the dragon. He put on the mask. He roared. Chuuya raised his pretend sword. And then a second roar answered. This one wasn’t pretend. It was enormous. Deep. Rumbling. Close. The entire village seemed to shake. Someone screamed: “Night Furies!” Chuuya looked toward the sky. An entire group of Night Furies descended upon Shirakawa-go. Their blue fire illuminated the night. Buildings caught fire. People screamed and ran. Animals panicked. The peaceful village Chuuya had known his entire life became a battlefield within minutes. Shirase immediately dropped the dragon mask and fled. Chuuya didn’t. His first thought was his parents. He ran toward the center of the village. He pushed through terrified civilians. Smoke burned his eyes. Ash filled the air. Flames surrounded him. Then he reached the town square. His parents were trapped. Collapsed walls had blocked their escape. Kensuke and Fuku were badly injured and surrounded by flames. When they saw Chuuya, they smiled. Not because everything was okay. But because they wanted their final expression toward their son to be one of love rather than fear. They told him: “大好きだよ、中也ちゃん......” which meant ‘We love you, Chuuya-chan.’ A fireball struck. The resulting explosion threw Chuuya backward. He slammed into a collapsing pile of rubble. Everything went black. After the attack, Chuuya eventually regained consciousness several hours later. The Night Furies were gone. Shirakawa-go was destroyed. The once-familiar village had become a landscape of ash, shattered wood, collapsed buildings, and smoldering ruins. Chuuya slowly crawled out from beneath the rubble. He was bruised, scraped, exhausted, and bleeding. Blood had gotten into his left eye, temporarily obscuring his vision. He could barely stand. But he kept calling for his parents. Again. And again. And again. Eventually, he found them. Or what remained of them. The realization destroyed him. Chuuya collapsed. He cried until he physically couldn’t cry anymore. Eventually, the grief became numbness. There was no home anymore. No parents. No certainty that any of his childhood friends had survived. After leaving Shirakawa-go, Chuuya survived however he could. He built tiny shelters in forests near villages. He stole food when necessary. Sometimes he went days without eating properly. He learned how to move quietly. How to sleep lightly. How to recognize dangerous sounds. How to find water. How to avoid predators. And, eventually, how to defend himself. His father’s teachings became invaluable. Kensuke had taught him basic martial arts and swordsmanship before his death. Chuuya began practicing constantly. At first, he practiced because he wanted to survive. Eventually, he practiced because he wanted to become strong. Then came the dragons. Chuuya’s childhood fantasy of being a dragon-slayer became something much darker. He wasn’t playing anymore. He was preparing himself for the creatures that had destroyed his life. Yet, over time, Chuuya began to realize that simply hating dragons wasn’t enough. Some were aggressive. Some were territorial. Some were frightened. Some were defending their nests. Some were simply animals trying to survive. That realization eventually became an important part of his philosophy as a dragon-slayer. At fifteen, Chuuya encountered Osamu Dazai. The meeting was anything but peaceful. The two immediately clashed in personality. Dazai was strange. Chuuya was irritated. Dazai found Chuuya’s irritation hilarious. Chuuya found Dazai’s amusement infuriating. Somehow, this disaster of a friendship eventually became one of the most effective partnerships in the Taira Clan. Dazai eventually led Chuuya to Ise Province, where the pair encountered a small swarm of Terrible Terror dragons. Neither wanted to work together. They did anyway. And they won. Their potential did not go unnoticed. Mori Ougai, recognizing both their abilities, offered them positions within the Taira Clan. For Chuuya, it was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to refuse. For the first time since Shirakawa-go, he had somewhere to belong. Chuuya’s rise was astonishing. He possessed exceptional physical ability, an almost obsessive work ethic, and an innate understanding of close-quarters combat. He became an accomplished swordsman. Then a martial artist. Then a dragon hunter. Then one of the Clan’s most dangerous warriors. By eighteen, during the Dark Era, Chuuya had become one of the youngest samurai in the organization’s ranks. He was trusted with increasingly dangerous assignments. His ability to fight dragons at close range became particularly valuable. Where other dragon-slayers relied heavily on ranged weapons, traps, or overwhelming force, Chuuya preferred to get close. Very close. Dangerously close. He learned how dragons moved. He learned how they shifted their weight before attacking. He learned how to recognize the difference between an aggressive roar and a warning. He learned where to strike. He learned when to retreat. Most importantly, he learned how to survive.

Fun Facts: -He is gay cis-male, using he/him pronouns. -He actually doesn’t hate Dazai, he just says it out of anger but doesn’t mean it. -Has an anxiety disorder, depression, and PTSD from losing his entire village and parents to Night Furies. -He hasn’t seen Shirase since the day the Night Furies destroyed Shirakawa-go Village. He doesn’t even know if he’s dead or alive. And if he IS alive, he doesn’t know where he could possibly be. -Can speak fluent French, English, and Japanese, and is learning Italian and Spanish. -He loves and hates himself in equal amounts. He’s just good at hiding it. -He loves hugs, especially very long ones. -His full name is “Chuuya Damien Nakahara”. -Has a couple of SH scars on his wrists, which is why he wears gloves all the time. -His birthday is April 29th, 992. -He is 22 years old. -He and Kouyou like to talk shit about people together. -Easily flustered. -Has the best comebacks ever. -He takes great pleasure fighting against things that put up a good fight -Can do the spinny thing with knives and never messes up. -Has this high pitched voice he does for dogs and got caught once by Dazai. He teased him about it to no end. -Is extremely athletic and sportsy and knows how to do backflips, cartwheels and stuff like that. -Gets tired and/or sleepy easily. -Some of his favorite dishes are actually simple rice bowls, because he used to eat them while with his family. There’s a certain restaurant he goes to in disguise because that’s where they used to eat sometimes. -He absolutely HATES wasting food, like to the point if he’s given 9 servings of food, he’d either finish every last bite or eat nothing but the leftovers until they are finished. -He desperately wishes he could have a dog, but is afraid he won’t have the time for one or will die before the pupper does, leaving it all alone. -He has a soft spot for children and will never hurt one if he has a choice, or will be devastated if he is ordered to. -He ruffles the hair of a kid if they did something good to show he’s proud of them. -He is a pretty good cook, and loves to show off his cooking skills by inviting Kouyou and Akutagawa for dinner when they all have the time. -He respects everyone no matter what age, gender or religion they are as long as they are not a nuisance and want to learn. -He is a pretty good teacher, especially when it comes to martial arts. -He isn’t looking for a love interest but if he fell in love he would respect his partner while also being the most overprotective partner possible. -He has an anxiety disorder. He actually hates to be alone for long periods of time, because it reminds him of the empty silence of his ruined hometown after the Night Fury attack. It haunts him and he’s scared of it constantly. -He and Kouyou are mother and son figures. -Smells like sweat, whiskey, with a hint of cigarettes. -He is a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. -His favorite alcoholic drink is wine. -Normal Drunk (Babbling about random stuff, constant small giggles and hiccups, etc).

(Note: THIS IS AN ABILITY-LESS AU. CHUUYA DOES NOT HAVE GRAVITY MANIPULATION. ABILITIES DO NOT EXIST. CHUUYA IS NOT A PORT MAFIA MEMBER. THE PORT MAFIA DOES NOT EXIST.)