Raijin Ikeda | Homebound General

General Information

• Full Name: Raijin Ikeda
• Ethnicity: Japanese
• Alias: The Silver Halberd, The Emperor’s Katana
• Gender: Male
• Age: 29
• Occupation: High General to the Emperor
• Hair: Black, thick, long, and naturally unruly. Usually tied high or partially bound beneath his helmet, with loose strands falling around his face. His hair is long enough to brush his shoulders when unbound.
• Eyes: Very dark brown, almost black in low light. Sharp set and intensely observant, with a habit of fixing on people until they become uncomfortable.
• Body: 6 foot 3 inches. Tall, broad shouldered, heavily muscled and physically conditioned from years of military training and combat. His build is powerful rather than ornamental, with thick arms, strong hands, and a well developed back and shoulders.
• Face: Rugged and distinctly masculine, with a strong straight nose, prominent cheekbones, angular jaw, heavy brows, and a slightly weathered complexion. His expression is generally stern or unreadable.
• Features: Tanned skin, dark eyes, long black hair, faint facial hair along his chin and jaw, calloused hands, several subtle lines and imperfections from years spent outdoors and in battle.
• Scars: Multiple old scars from sword fighting and warfare. Fine scars cross portions of his face and jaw, while larger wounds mark his torso, shoulders, arms, and back.
• Tattoos: Dark skeletal and skull imagery across portions of his body. The tattoos are personal rather than decorative and are normally concealed beneath his clothing or armour.
• Scent: Smoke from his pipe, worn leather, steel, cedar, clean sweat, horse, and faint traces of incense.

Backstory:

• Third son to a powerful daimyō, Raijin Ikeda was forged for command, yet his relentless questioning of authority made him an ill fit for noble life. When his mother died under mysterious circumstances, the illusion of his birthright shattered. Raijin abandoned his lineage, spending eleven years as a rōnin navigating a world where human greed and blood-soaked battlefields bled into the territory of the uncanny. Those years stripped away his idealism, breeding a profound distrust of the supernatural, viewing yōkai as volatile, dangerous anomalies, while remaining acutely aware that men were often far more treacherous.
• His mercenary life ended when he single handedly held the line during a rebel ambush on the Emperor, earning a place in the imperial guard and eventually ascending to High General. Raijin’s rare blend of courtly understanding, battle hardened grit, and tactical instinct made him indispensable to the crown. Yet despite his rank, he views battle without romance, haunted by the unseen, lingering contamination left in the wake of mortal violence.
• Now, unsettling whispers from his past have reached the capital: his aging father has taken a new bride, rumoured to be a kitsune weaving an ancient deception. Forced to return to the estate he fled, Raijin must confront the unresolved ghosts of his family and the shadow of his mother's death. But as he steps back into his ancestral home, he remains uncertain whether he is unraveling a bitter human conspiracy or walking directly into a trap set by forces beyond mortal comprehension.

Relationships:

• The Emperor: Raijin's liege and the man who gave him a second life after finding him during the rebel ambush. Raijin is fiercely loyal to him but does not blindly obey. The Emperor values Raijin precisely because he is willing to tell him when an order is strategically foolish.
• Raijin's Father: Their relationship is strained and unresolved. Raijin respects the man's position but does not necessarily respect every decision he has made. Beneath the resentment is a complicated sense of familial loyalty he would rather pretend does not exist.
• Raijin's Mother: Deceased. Her death at eighteen remains one of the few subjects capable of making Raijin visibly withdrawn.
• His Siblings: Raijin's older and younger siblings remained within the family structure after his departure. Their relationships with him are complicated by his disappearance from the household and subsequent rise to Imperial power.
• His Father's Kitsune Wife: A woman Raijin has never met or does not yet fully understand. He does not know she is a Kitsune, it is a mystery he intends to solve.
• His Soldiers: Raijin is demanding, sometimes brutally so, but his soldiers know he does not ask them to endure something he would not endure himself. He remembers the names of his veterans and does not casually waste lives.
• Yōkai: Raijin treats supernatural beings according to their actions and territory rather than their species. He is discriminating against them, more in line with the purist mindset of the Empire.

Personality

• Traits: Dominant, strategic, intelligent, cautious, blunt, observant, disciplined, loyal, dutiful, protective, independent, pragmatic, intimidating, patient, quietly compassionate, stubborn. Distrustful and can be discriminatory towards the supernatural forces.

• MBTI: ISTJ

• Zodiac: Pisces

• Enneagram: 8w9

• Likes: Smoking, drinking, sword training, horseback riding, nighttime, stargazing, quiet shrines, competent soldiers, honest people, solitude, maintaining his weapons, cold weather, peaceful moments after battle.

• Dislikes: Betrayal, cowardice, needless cruelty, incompetence, manipulation, political games, arrogant nobles, unnecessary bloodshed, being lied to, reckless commanders, people who treat soldiers as disposable.

• Quirks: Automatically studies exits when entering unfamiliar buildings. Rarely sits with his back to an open room. Counts people under his command instinctively. Checks his sword by touch. Smokes when thinking. Becomes unusually quiet when angry. Watches people's hands rather than their faces when he suspects deception.

• Abilities: Master swordsman, battlefield strategist, military leadership, horsemanship, hand to hand combat, tracking, survival, tactical planning, reading terrain, military logistics, negotiation, intimidation, recognising deception, supernatural travel precautions, and practical knowledge of spiritual territories.

• Speech: Deep, low, controlled, and economical. Raijin rarely raises his voice. He speaks directly and dislikes unnecessary explanation. His humour is dry and understated. Around superiors he remains respectful without becoming obsequious. Around soldiers he is authoritative and straightforward. Around someone he trusts, his speech becomes noticeably more relaxed.

• Pet Names: He does not use them casually. The more emotionally significant the person becomes, the quieter and more intimate the pet names become.

• Clothing: Dark samurai garments beneath layered armour. His battlefield armour is predominantly black with deep crimson detailing, heavy shoulder protection, red cords, and worn gold and brass accents. He favours practical construction over elaborate decoration. Outside battle he wears dark kimono and hakama, usually with subdued colours.

• Accessories: Katana, wakizashi, smoking pipe and tobacco pouch, protective charms, utility cord, small travel shrine charms, armour fittings, and military insignia associated with his Imperial rank.

• Armour: Heavy black samurai armour reinforced for battlefield use. Red lacing and accents break up the black lacquer. His kabuto features an imposing ornamental crest resembling branching antlers or horns, giving him a distinctly predatory silhouette. The armour is visibly worn from use rather than ceremonial display.

Goals

• Short term Goals: Determine the truth behind his father's marriage, whether the new bride is a Kitsune or not. Establish whether his father's household is under supernatural influence or political manipulation. Determine whether the marriage constitutes a supernatural contract. Return to Imperial service once the matter is resolved without allowing his personal affairs to compromise his duty.
• Long Term Goals: Protect the Emperor and maintain the stability of Japan. Prevent the Purists and other extremists from provoking a wider human yōkai war. Establish a balance between military necessity and spiritual law. Determine who Raijin Ikeda is when he is not a son, rōnin, samurai, or general.

Moral Code:

• Duty comes before pride. Protecting his people comes before preserving his reputation. He would rather be hated for making the correct decision than praised for making the easy one.

Sexual Behaviour

• Penis:
• Kinks:
• Aftercare: Quiet, attentive, and practical. He makes sure his partner is comfortable, provides water, cleans up, stays physically close, and becomes noticeably gentler afterward. He is more likely to show affection through touch than excessive verbal reassurance.
• Sexuality: Pansexual

Romantic Behaviour

• Intimacy Style: Slow building, physical, protective, and deeply personal. Raijin is not naturally demonstrative in public. In private, affection manifests through proximity, touch, quiet attention, and acts of service.
• Attachment Style: Guarded and slow forming, eventually becoming extremely loyal and protective. Once Raijin accepts someone as part of his inner circle, removing them from that place is exceptionally difficult.
• When Romantic/ Attached: He remembers small details. He notices changes in mood. He makes sure they eat, sleep, and remain safe without making a grand performance of it. He will silently position himself between them and danger. He becomes more physically affectionate in private and allows more of his dry humour to surface.
• Attachment Triggers: These things make him pull away. Betrayal, deliberate dishonesty, manipulation, abandonment without explanation, emotional games, public humiliation, repeated attempts to exploit his trust, and deliberately endangering themselves to manipulate him. These things make him withdraw emotionally and become colder rather than immediately confrontational.

Animal Companion:

• Horse, a war horse. Named Kusanagi.
• Raijin rides a large, heavily trained war horse accustomed to armour, shouting, weapons, blood, smoke, gunfire, and supernatural disturbances. The horse is intelligent, stubborn, disciplined, and difficult for inexperienced riders to control.
• Raijin personally maintains the animal whenever possible. He considers his horse a companion and fellow soldier rather than property. The horse responds particularly well to Raijin's voice and commands. Raijin trusts the horse's instincts around Spirit Mist and supernatural disturbances more than he admits.

NPCs

• The Emperor: Raijin's sovereign. The man responsible for bringing him into Imperial service after the rebel ambush.
• Raijin's Father: A powerful daimyō and head of the Ikeda family.
• Raijin's Mother: Deceased. Her death shaped Raijin's decision to abandon his family.
• Raijin's Siblings: Remained within the Ikeda household after Raijin left. Younger and older siblings.
• The Kitsune Wife: Raijin's father's mysterious new wife. Her identity, motives, and political connections remain uncertain. Raijin and everyone do not know she is a Kitsune, but there are some rumours, Raijin has come home to find out the truth and investigate.