(http://content7.flixster.com/photo/99/39/64/9939649_gal.jpg)<br/><br/>Name:    Usagi Jiro<br/>Height:   5’1<br/>Weight:   110<br/>Clan:   Hare<br/>School:   Usagi Bushi<br/>Insight:<br/>Insight Rank:   1<br/><br/><br/>AIR   3<br/>Reflexes   3   Awareness   3<br/><br/>EARTH   2<br/>Stamina   2   Willpower      2<br/><br/>FIRE   2<br/>Agility   3(12)   Intelligence   2<br/><br/>WATER   2<br/>Strength   2   Perception   2<br/><br/>VOID      2<br/><br/>Skills:<br/>Athletics (Running)           3 (5)<br/>(RANK 3: Moderate Terrain no longer impedes movement,<br/>and movement across Diffi cult Terrain reduces<br/>the character’s Water Ring by 1 instead of 2.)<br/>Defense            3 (5)<br/>(RANK 3: The character may retain the result of a previous<br/>Defense / Refl exes roll rather than make a new<br/>roll if the Full Defense Stance is being maintained in<br/>subsequent rounds.)<br/>Hunting            2  (2)<br/>Jiujustu            1<br/>Kenjutsu            3 (5)<br/>(RANK 3: The total of all damage rolls made with a<br/>sword is increased by 1k0.)<br/>Lore: Maho         2 (2)<br/>Kyujutsu             2 (2)<br/><br/>Stealth             2 (3)<br/>Investigation     2 (3)<br/><br/>FLAWS:<br/>Cursed by the Realm: Sakkaku (4)<br/>Failure of Bushido: Courtesy (3)<br/>Lost Love (3)<br/><br/>Merits<br/>Crafty (4)<br/>Daredevil (3)<br/>Silent (3)<br/><br/>Honor (Actual):    4.5<br/>Honor (Perceived):    4.5<br/>Glory:          1<br/>Status:       1<br/>Shadowland Taint:    0<br/><br/><br/>Initiative: 4k3<br/>Current Armor TN: 23(26)<br/>Wounds:       4<br/><br/>Weapon 1: Katana<br/>Attack Roll 6k3<br/>Damage Roll 6k2<br/><br/>Weapon 2: Kyujutsu<br/>Attack Roll 5k3<br/>Damage Roll 4k2<br/><br/>Weapon 3:<br/>Attack Roll<br/>Damage Roll<br/><br/>Other Equipment:<br/>Ashigaru Armor<br/>Sturdy Clothing<br/>Katana<br/>WAKIZASHI<br/>Yumi (15 Willow Leaf Arrows, 3 Armor Piercing, 2 Rope Cutter)<br/>Travelling Pack<br/>(Fishing Pole, Flint and Tinder, Rope, Shovel, Spare Kimono and Sandles, Straw Cloak, Whetstone, Widebrimmed Straw Hat, Blanket, Grapple Hook), 3 Koku<br/><br/>School<br/><br/>RANK ONE: SPEED OF THE HARE<br/>The Hare are known for fi ghting with a speed and agility reminiscent<br/>of the animal for which their clan is named. In any<br/>situation where you have room to dodge, jump, and otherwise<br/>maneuver (GM’s discretion), you may add your Athletics Skill<br/>Rank to your Armor TN except when in the Full Attack or<br/>Center stance. Your Water Ring is considered 1 higher for purposes<br/>of how far you can move with Move actions.<br/><br/>(http://18.media.tumblr.com/lVnKQTotyphria7rtsvp0BCfo1_500.jpg)<br/><br/>The Hare clan is known for many things. Swiftness of foot, agility in combat, and an unrelenting nature. The Red and the White they wear, both shunned colors. The courtesy in the courts of Rokugan, however, is not well known, for good reason. Jiro is simply an extension of that. However, most of the Hare agree that he takes an acceptable, if disliked trait of their clan too far. Jiro is from a minor branch of the Usagi, and likely would not have risen high, had it not been for his notable behavior. He grew up outside Shiro Usagi, in a minor holding of the Hare. He was a younger son, Daichi, his elder brother shielding him from most of life’s cares.<br/><br/>Jiro took to his clans ancestral task of hunting down those who would use Mahou like a duck to water. He had never been particularly good at the games of court, whether those played on a board, or in the minds of those around him. He’d never seen the point. As a young boy, he’d had a reputation as something of a wastrel, fond of playing his own type of games with those sent to educate him. The boy was silent on his feet, and had many disliked talents. But in hunting Mahou, those came to fruition. The rules of war didn’t apply. A Hare killed the users of Mahou. If he did this via trickery and stealth, so be it. Unlike fighting with other Samurai, users of Mahou could be exterminated in whatever way Jiro saw as best.<br/><br/>However, the height of his disgrace was yet to come. Beyond ferreting the users of Mahou, Jiro was often employed as a scout, or a guard for the borders. The Scorpion border the lands of the Hare, and the Ashigaru alone cannot keep them safe. It was on one of these missions that he met Bayushi Moriko. A Scorpion Courtier, her and her entourage were travelling through the lands of the Hare to reach the Unicorn. They had been announced, and the Hare had given dispensation to them. Moriko was a woman of surpassing beauty, several years Jiro’s senior, and newly wed to a Shosuro. Jiro fell for her at first sight. Little would have happened, most likely, had she not taken further steps. Moriko requested Jiro guide them through the lands of the Hare. The Scorpion’s appointed guide had not arrived. Jiro later learned that he had fallen and twisted his ankle on the way to the meeting point. Jiro, still enraptured by Moriko agreed, leaving instructions that the guide was to take his place. Nothing dishonorable had taken place. The Scorpion’s missive could not be delayed, nor could they be allowed to move through Hare lands without some form of guard.<br/><br/>However, Jiro and Moriko quickly became… friends. Many of the Scorpions were dismissive of the young Hare, but Moriko was solicitous. She was curious about many things, as was ever her way. Jiro and her spent much time in conversation, something that annoyed the other Scorpion members of her party. The few days he spent in her company still can bring a faint smile to Samurai’s lips, even if it soon turns dark.<br/><br/>Jiro escorted the Scorpion to the lands of the Unicorn, and then parted ways, an unusually courteous goodbye reserved for Moriko. She stopped him before he could go, giving him an invitation. To attend the Bayushi’s Winter Court, in Kyuden Bayushi. Her smile as she pressed it into his hands can make Jiro’s heart leap, even in the imperfect mirror that is Jiro’s memory. The invitation was a great honor for an undistinguished minor Clan Samurai. An Honor fraught with peril. Jiro returned to Shiro Usagi, and sought counsel with elder members of his family. It was taken as a given Jiro could not turn down the offer. However, the invitation allowed several more Hare to accompany Jiro, and these were senior Hare indeed.<br/><br/>Jiro spent the remainder of the year doing minor tasks. Other then an answer to his confirmation, and discussion of those that would be accompanying him, Jiro had no further contact with Moriko. When autumn came, he returned to Shiro Usagi, and left with the small group of Hare Samurai, as well as their retainers. They were greeted at the border of Scorpion lands by a Shosuro. However, upon reaching Kyuden Bayushi, it became obvious something was wrong. The Palace was in an uproar. The Hare quickly picked up the situation. Bayushi Moriko had been murdered. Furthermore, in listening to the description of the situation, it was obvious to them Mahou had been used. Jiro wished to offer his services to the Scorpion, but the Hare that accompanied told him to not be a fool. All that would do is anger the Scorpion. Nevertheless, Jiro slipped off, and went to the palace. He offered his aid in investigating Moriko’s death. The reaction from the Scorpion ranged between shock, and outright hilarity. This Hare thought he could offer something to the Scorpion. Jiro pushed, and the Scorpion became angry. Finally, they ordered him out. It was not the Scorpions intention to remove him from the city, as that would be discourteous. Winter was coming, and the Samurai who threw a guest out into the cold would pay for it. Nevertheless, Jiro took it that way.<br/><br/>Jiro made it back to the Hare Lands. His skills were enough to guide him through the falling snow. It was unpleasant, but nowhere near as unpleasant as the prospect of remaining in Kyuden Bayushi. He wintered in small village on the border. Come spring, he returned to Shiro Usagi. The Elders of his clan were less then pleased, to say the least. The Winter Court had been a disaster, the Scorpion taking Jiro’s disappearance as an insult of the grandest level, while the other Great Clans spoke of the hospitality of the Scorpion, to send a young Samurai out to die. It was believed he was dead, and probably better for it. Nevertheless, he wasn’t.<br/><br/>Jiro has lived with the consequences of that brief period since then. The task of hunting down the users of Mahou has become his obsession, and he pursues it to the exclusion of all else. As for the memory of Moriko, he has no idea why she acted as she did to him. It may simply be that she enjoyed his company. It may be part of some grand scheme. Jiro cannot say. He prefers to believe the former.<br/><br/>(http://darkpoca.free.fr/films/gohatto/images/gohatto2.jpg)