Author's Games: Samurai

Clan 9: Naoki Hojo

This was written by Several7s. 

Name: Hojo Naoki (NO-ki)

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Appearance: Naoki has straight black hair that falls into his face, blocking your view of his eyes, which are so dark of a brown as to be almost black. They spark with a fiery anger that has been reined in and if you watch him carefully, you can see how much attention he pays to his surroundings. He doesn't smile often and his face is mostly left in a half frown. His body is strong and capable from years of training and exercise and he is tall, only a few inches away from six feet. Despite this, he looks young for his age. He wears simple, comfortable clothes that will help him blend into his background if necessary.

Weapon of Choice: Like most Samurai, Naoki uses the katana. However, since leaving his clan, he has also adopted use of the shurikan, or ninja throwing stars, and the yumi, which is essentially just a bow. He has also used the bo, but he prefers the other weapons. He is adept at all of these weapons, but what he really excels at are the shurikan.

Personality: Naoki is a fiery young man with a temper, but he has learned to rein it in over the years and it rarely shows now except in the occasional outburst. He is very serious and since he spent a lot of time on the run, he doesn't have any friends. He was never very good with others anyway, though, and he would often spend his time in the woods, using his weapons. To him, weapons practice wasn't just exercise or practicing his skills: it was a way to escape from the oppression of his life and into the peace that comes with the flowing movements of his body as he uses his weapons. Because of this, he has always been good in a fight, because he can slip into that frame of mind and forget about everything that is going on around him and focus only on the fight.

Background: Naoki was thirteen when his parents died, leaving him behind to deal with the harsh rulers of his clan. He was put into a rigorous training program where he became a Samurai warrior and was forced to learn all about how to use the weapons of the Samurai. By the time he was seventeen, he had come to despise his clan and everyone in it. He harbored a deepest hatred for the clan leader, because he knew that his leader had ordered his parents killed because of acts of treason. As soon as he knew he had enough knowledge to survive alone, he left his clan, becoming a Ronin. The leader of his clan hunted him after he left, determined to end him like he had his parents. For a while, he trained with the ninjas, convincing them, after a while, that he was not a threat to them. Because of their supicious nature, it took them two years before they finally believed that he had only come to them because he had nowhere else to go and that he wasn't a spy for the Samurai. While with the ninjas, he learned many of their abilities, including the art of moving unseen and how to use the weapons that they favored. He left the ninjas when he turned twenty-one to wander and to learn about what was going on with the clans. That was when he learned about the war and knew that if he didn't chose a side or make one, he might not be able to survive.

Side Characters: Naoki doesn't really know anyone, but he believes that the spirits of his parents are watching over him and that strengthens him when he needs it most.

Influences in Battle: In battle his only influences are what is going on around him and how he can survive. If he had someone he cared about, he would go to any length to protect them, even at the cost of his own life, but since he doesn't, the only thing that influences his decisions are the choices he has to make in order to survive. He won't kill if he doesn't have to, but if he does, he won't hesitate to do what is necessary.

Belief: He believes in survival, honor, and loyalty above all else. If he promises to do something, he will do it no matter what, because he believes that to lie is dishonorable. Similarly, if he pledges his loyalty to you, he will stay loyal unless given good reasons not to. He is a suvivor as well, so he will think carefully about what he does before he does it in order to make the best possible decision so that he would be put into minimal danger. He does have a reckless side as well, however, that comes out only when he is protecting those important to him.

Clan Information: Naoki's clan is rather small and insignificant, so there isn't much to tell about them. They didn't have many warriors on their side for a long time until their new leader took over. Shortly before the clan wars broke out, their new leader strengthened the clan and built it up, making it a worthy foe. Naoki doesn't know all that much about his clan now, after spending years away, and he no longer considers it his clan either, but he does know that the clan enlarged and grew in might and territory over the first few years of the leader's rule, he knows the clan could potentially be a significant foe for the other clans.

Nobunaga Oda: "The Hojo are weak, and pitiful. Soon, they will be consumed by the rest of the world, and lost to the pages of history. You are strong, and you left, which was the best decision you could have made. You just might be a worthy opponent against me."

Mitsuhide Akechi: "Your life as a ronin is one that I admire. Part of me wishes I had stayed one for a little longer, to learn more skills, as you have. Never stray from your path."

Hideyoshi Hashiba: "What happened to you is horrible, Hojo-san. But don't let your hatred for your clan consume you. I've seen what happens to someone consumed with hatred, and that's no way to live life!"

Magoichi Saika: "I actually think you're someone I could get along with, surprisingly."

Ishida Mitsunari:"I understand what it is like to hate your clan. They were supposed to take care of you, and then they betrayed you. Believe me, it isn't easy, feeling as if you have no place in the world. The worst feeling imaginable is hating your own clan. Where does that leave us? Where is our place in the world? These are questions I have wondered about myself for years."