[Spirit Class 7] Ekashiba Mura

» Name: Mura Ekashiba (エカシバ - 群, Ekashiba Mura)
» Alias: Niten Mura (二天 - 群, Mura of the Two Heavens), Kiseki no Yaiba (奇跡の刃, The Sword of Miracles)
» Age: 29
» Gender: Male

» Association: None

» Marital Status: Single
» Nationality: Japanese (Ainu descent)
» Sexual Orientation: Straight

» Appearance Written: Mura’s 5’11’’ tall build carries a tan skintone, with mild hair growth on his chest, arm and legs. His legs possess well-toned muscles spread over his thighs and shins, especially in comparison to the rest of his body – his torso is slim and well-trained, but a large scar runs down its left side from his shoulder to his hip. His right arm’s long and rather flexible, but it looks disproportionate thanks to missing most of his left arm. His face holds a short, flat chin, sharp linear structure around his amber eyes, and a couple scars caressing his forehead and cheek. Lastly, his brown hair reaches down to his neck and is often kept tied in a bushy ponytail, only allowing a couple bangs to hover over his forehead.

His main wear is an orange hoodie with a grey shirt underneath, black pants, a small backpack and an old scarf around his neck. Most of his equipment is visibly worn on his body, too.

» Appearance Image:


» Personality: Mura is a steadfast, reasonable man... for the most part. However, he sticks to his own guts as a habit among many habits that he appreciates, regardless of who tries to talk him off of them. Of course, previous events have made him much more wary of people in general, but he still has habits of expecting good in people first and foremost. It’s a sign of his naivety, something that he’s never gotten to grow fully out of yet.

At times, his naivety may feel forged in his own eyes... he often doubts his sincerety, seeing it as a coping mechanism to keep himself safe and sound after having traveled so far with such consequences as those he lives under today. Maybe that’s also why he’s so intent and eager to lift people’s smiles on bad days and actually help others – a way of healing other people’s hearts as a medicine to his own, tired one, and a way to clear his name gradually.

Mura wishes to the bones that he returns to a simple life – where he can stick to his guts, desires and morals against any force that comes his way. This mentality has strengthened his willpower over the years of his relatively young life, and they aim to continue doing so.

He has dedications to apply this willpower to – his swordsmanship is by far his top priority. Further expanding this ancient sword art has been his oldest, longest drive to fight, fight, grow, train, kill, and fight again. He’ll never be satisfied with his strength until he can slice the heavens in half with a single strike – not that such a thing is a genuine dream of his, though.

» Likes: Swords, dango, Kurosawa movies, fishing.

» Dislikes: Hollows, bees, ginger tea, chili, broken swords, breaking swords.


» An Ainu From Hokkaido Moves To Kyōto | Age 0-5
Mura was born in Hamatombetsu, Hokkaido. As the son of two Ainu descendants, he inherited their family name Ekashiba and was guarded in the warm confines of his home throughout his infantry. His father worked in a small fishing company, and his mother tended to the Hamatombetsu-Jinja Shrine. They were, by many means, a frugal family, but they took good care of their first-born child in his first years. They were also the first witnesses of Mura’s… inhuman strength – from a very young age, he could already lift large furniture by himself, run faster than most adults around him, and even swim across the nearby river. When he turned 5, he’d accidently broken the slide at his kindergarten just by jumping on it multiple times. His parents were panicking over his antics, but at the same time… as a frugal family, Mura could use his great physical strength to follow in his father’s footsteps as a soon-to-be prestigious fisherman.

That was the plan, initially. Unfortunately, the father’s fishing company had laid him off later in his life, but in the meantime, he too had begun tending to the shrine further up north of their home. When Mura’s mother received an invitation to work at one of the shrines located in Kyōto, his parents decided to pack their things and move down to one of the larger islands of Japan to start anew. Mura left an impression in the small populace in Hamatombetsu, who would always remember this powerful, young boy and all the heavy things he lifted and played with.

In Kyōto, Mura wanted to make more use of his innate strength and dabble into martial arts after watching some cartoons about buff men, proud warriors, esoteric fighting styles that tore enemies in half and saved loved ones – he especially grew fond of Kenjutsu at this time. At the age of 6, his father managed to get him enrolled in a local Kenjutsu school, Kyōto Niten, that focused on dual-wielding swords – they happily took this wonder boy in, intent on feeding his physical strength with 100 years’ worth of accumulated skills and techniques and transform him into a master swordsman one day. His parents hoped that they could help him control his strength, lest he turned into a bully who’d oppress the weak one day…

The school drew inspiration from the founder of their namesake, a legendary swordsman nicknamed ‘Niten’ himself, but they were fully comprised of that one dojo of theirs and its few offices – because of that, the place as a pastime sport was just affordable for the frugal parents to fulfill Mura’s wish to enroll there. They expected great things from him.

» Little Niten Practitioner | Age 6-10
Despite starting out at 6, roughing a newbie like him up was still essential in order to weed out those who thought it’d be a stroll across a flowery field – Kenjutsu, and especially Niten Ichi-ryū (the dual-wielding sword style), demanded that one take pride in the painful strives they partake for the sake of achieving further strength and skill. But Mura was already tougher than most, and after the first few weeks, Mura fully acclimated to all the battering and bludgeoning damage he received from their bamboo swords during practice – unable to be bullied away from their tough ways, he managed to learn some good basic skills from the school such as how to swing two swords at varying rhythms, how to practice Kendō but without bōgu, and a few dual-sword kata. In a way, practicing Niten Ichi-ryū gave not only him, but also his parents a sense of reassurance that settling in this city was the right choice.

Unfortunately, Mura’s growing interest in Kenjutsu interfered badly with his academical education over the years, much to the chagrin of his parents. However, he’d made a name for himself at the Kyōto Niten as a living sparring dummy, a tough wall of a boy, easily shaking off bashes and hits from seniors that would easily injure skin and bone on ordinary members.

» Power Attracts Power | Age 10-13
At age 10, Mura had mastered quite a handful of sword skills, but matching up against others presented a little issue. Kyōto Niten did hold local matches, and being strong enough to ignore hits didn’t mean that he wouldn’t lose points – this led to a low track record. No matter what, he could stand his ground against all who challenged him, but he had grown too confident of his physical strength and often forgot to get ahead in points and stuff. This arrogance turned into a quarrel between him and a fellow student, antagonizing Mura’s “lack of seriousness” in this martial art. Dissatisfied with Mura’s resolve shown in his matches, the student challenged Mura outside of the dojo, and Mura met him again at a grassy meadow – after the elder student caught up to him, some other students tried to deescalate the situation before anyone got hurt… but it was a late evening. Honeyed rays of fainting light cut through the grasses, a beast ran through the tall shrubbery, and Mura remembers being attacked by what he could only describe as a demon. A Hollow, to be precise.

Everyone panicked at the sight, but the Head Master had arrived at the scene in time. While Mura had stood his ground, he was badly injured by the monster – the Head Master dealt the finishing blow by splitting its head in half, saving Mura from his first physically perilous challenge.

Mura took some time at the hospital to recover from that experience. His parents had turned furious towards the school for ever allowing this level of damage to infect him, who was usually capable of shaking off any physical challenge he’d met up until now – their parental feelings beckoned Mura to just call quits and focus on studies instead, a chance to live a more common life. And for a while, after waking up again… Mura did consider just quitting then and there, not feeling safe within the dojo anymore. His strength had failed him that evening, and when would it do so again?

The Head Master of his dojo had dealt with the panicking students from earlier, explaining to them how dangerous it was to go out late in the day without supervision, and once the young boy had returned to the school to talk about resigning, he was instead talked into participating in special training as compensation - both to recover the physical strength he'd let rust over his time in the hospital bed, and as a form of reconciliation. The Head Master had seen Mura as a potential candidate for a future Head Master of the school, but Mura needed two things – control over the source of his physical strength, and 100% dedication to the soul of Niten Ichi-ryū.

The Head Master took Mura and four other, elder students to a distant, small temple located at Mt. Hiei. During the summer vacation, the Head Master disclosed to these students the knowledge of Reiryoku, spiritual powers that frequented this mortal plane.

» Kyōto Niten's 100-Year Legacy - Rei | Age 13-18
The Head Master used this summer vacation to introduce to these young students the knowledge of Spirit or Rei. Many of their parents had already told them about Kyōto’s strong, spiritual presence and its attraction to spirits as serious as they could, but many of the kids had thought it to be a bunch of bedtime stories until now. The Head Master showcased the lifting of a large boulder with one hand, brought forth by manipulating what he called Spiritual Energy or Reiryoku, a supernatural energy source originating from the souls of living beings. Their little dojo was one of many places where people knew of this source of power, and the Head Master was intent to teach these students how to manipulate theirs to achieve similar feats.

This did mean, in Mura’s ears, that all living beings possessed Reiryoku to some extent, some more or less than others – including the students present. The Head Master guided them through a tough training regime that would bring forth this supernatural energy and make the users aware of its presence deep inside of them when they felt like they had exhausted all other reserves of strength. While Mura was adept with their school’s dual-sword style, he wasn’t nearly as skilled as the others yet – however, the Head Master noticed how quickly he caught onto the concept of Reiryoku, and how quickly Mura was able to channel it through his body to perform feats like… lifting the entire small temple they were stationed at! Mura was wildly rebuked for such a reckless action, but the boy had been powerful for most of his life, and channeling Reiryoku through his flesh only amplified that strength many times fold. He just wanted to impress the Head Master…

This was even more impressive when the other students were merely able to see apparitions floating around Mt. Hiei after their training ended.

Knowledge of Reiryoku was widespread, but the Head Master only knew how to strengthen his physical body with it. Mura’s apparent talent became clearer overtime, and upon returning to the dojo at the end of their summer vacation, he was capable of far greater physical feats than the rest of his peers, being prompted continuously by the Head Master to not spend much time at the dojo in fear of the entire place collapsing under his sword swings. Mura wasn’t the fastest on foot, but his sword swings alone could blitz his peers on an off day. This power melted into his sword style and suddenly made him a force to be reckoned with, capable of strengthening his sword blows enough to shatter bamboo swords on a daily basis, cause collateral damage like it was normal, and terrify most of his peers.

This increased physical strength was amazing… and it made Mura grateful to the school, which led him to fully dedicate himself as a swordsman to the school’s sword style. The following years also revealed that he was getting much better at performing the school's Niten Ichi-ryū techniques than before that summer vacation. It appeared that teaching Mura about Reiryoku had made him a prime candidate for the next Head Master.

At this point in time, the current Head Master used the opportunity to inform Mura about the creature that had attacked him 8 years ago, warning him to preferably not engage in combat against such a being if another encounter him, but instead flee until it disappeared itself. Despite how powerful Mura was, those demonic beings were unpredictable.

» Duel The Head Master | Age 18
The Head Master had noticed Mura’s explosive increase in strength, skill and Reiryoku, a force that the old school head could sense like ripples in the air and falling debris. He’d been curious about Mura for years, ever since he saved the boy from the attack by that small Hollow 8 years ago, and now the young man could fend off such a being all by himself. Curious to know if Mura had what it took to succeed him, the Head Master officially challenged Mura to a match for the successor title in their dojo. Mura, who had grown in a skilled swordsman who could manipulate his Reiryoku like never before, accepted the challenge.

Dual bamboo swords. Ruthless combat. Until one forfeits, or one is incapable of continuing the duel. And the two clashed against each other, impressing all the members of their school – the Head Master could immediately tell that Mura had caught up to his elder classmates in skill alone, even though they were still using bamboo swords for safety reasons. However, the Head Master’s Reiryoku far exceeded Mura’s current own, and the latter was simply overpowered by sheer boosts in the Master’s physical strength, which ended up shattering both of Mura’s bamboo swords and ending the duel after 7 minutes. Their battle took place at the temple where Mura had first trained in manipulating his Reiryoku, and that temple… no longer stood. Completely destroyed… but according to the Head Master, it was worth it for his worthy challenge.

Mura had officially lost his duel against the surprisingly powerful Head Master, but the latter was more than impressed – he was genuinely surprised by how much resistance Mura offered, from one High-Spec human to another. He was proud of the young man, not because of his obviously overwhelming strength, but because he’d finally learned to appreciate Kenjutsu to the point where he’d grown into a fine martial artist, a respected and skilled swordsman and practitioner of Niten Ichi-ryū. As a reward for his efforts, the Head Master gifted Mura the title Niten Mura as well as his prayer necklace – Mura still wears it to this day. It was able to change colors when worn, which was found out to work like a literal mood ring.

» Journey To The West | Age 18-25
While losing his duel to the Head Master, Mura had held his ground to such an extent, and showcased his heightened skill in their dual-sword style so clearly, that he was prompted to seek further challenges by combating other fighting styles – specifically by going west of Japan, to the landmass that had birthed a plurality of martial artists of all kinds… China. A place that the Head Master knew possessed equally powerful, if not much more impressive practitioners of martial arts – people who, too, possessed great amounts of Reiryoku. They would prove the ultimate challenge for Mura, if he desired to spar against them in order to gauge himself and his developed powers.

Mura gladly accepted the idea, confidently seeking to sharpen his skills in the faraway country. He bid his parents goodbye, came into contact with the Head Master's friends in China, and got on a plane for what was meant to be a few years of experiencing a new atmosphere…

His plane dropped him off at Mianyang Nanjiao Airport, and he continued his journey towards the mountainous regions of Tibet – first by a tour bus, then by foot. The further east he went… the fewer options for vehicular transport were present. The buzz of China’s giant cities ebbed into the horizons overtime, while sore rashes grew on Mura’s feet from walking so much… but he persevered, even if he began feeling weak for the first time in a while. This, too, was just a challenge for a proud Niten practitioner to overcome. He was so eager to meet his Head Master's friends that he sprinted most of the way into the eastern provinces, wanting to reach the Tibetan meeting area as quickly as possible…

But upon reaching a peculiar grave area in the region of Qinghai, Mura met an… apparition. A person clad in a dirty, grey haori, black gi underneath, and red plate armor on his arms and legs, wandering around the grave area with a rusty chain directly connected to his chest. Mura hadn’t encountered such an obvious Soul since the attack long ago, but this one was talkative, sentient and… emotional. Not a demon, but a human being… or, well, the remains of one. This ghost introduced himself as Kyūken – odd, maybe a Japanese person who moved and perished here in China – and asked Mura about the whereabouts of a precious jian of his named Harukami… to which Mura had no knowledge of.

This visibly upset Kyūken, emitting a… familiar aura, and a grieving face that immediately implored Mura to go find this jian for him – Kyūken’s joyous, shining eyes washed the darkness away, and Mura decided to go back towards the nearest settlement for more information. The sword was apparently kept in China’s National Museum – despite having come this far, Mura remembered how terrifying Kyūken looked when he began losing hope in seeing his sword again. With that haunting the young man’s mind, he went back towards Beijing, using the opportunity to see how fast he could return to the capital after walking for so long.

...

And upon returning to the lone gravestone at the hills of Qinghai, Mura was a wanted man in China. He'd run for his life for the most part, panting and out of energy from the miles-long journey he'd taken in such a hurry. Thank the heavens for his developed muscles and ability to amplify his body with Reiryoku, allowing him to last for so long - but while Kyūken was overjoyed with reuniting with his rusty jian, Mura had broken into the museum in Beijing at night, and as a result of his inexperience in burglary, he had to fend off against several groups of authorities, using his strength and skills to run away from bullets, stars, batons, cars and helicopters. It was an embarrassment, becoming a criminal with his dojo’s name on his shoulders. The authorities were immediately wary of his inhuman strength, deploying larger vehicles to stop him in his tracks, but he managed to slither away. At one point, he was faced by a Chinese soldier who wasn’t afraid of Mura’s strength – in fact, Mura vividly remembered the Head Master’s promise about powerful brawlers being present in China when that soldier almost got Mura killed after a tough fight.

They exchanged blows, Mura being at a disadvantage without a sword in his hands. The soldier was able to leap through windows and walls in order to catch up to the fleeing young man who did the same, even leaving Mura with a fractured jawbone, but the swordsman managed to escape by throwing his jacket as a distraction while dipping down a large dam outside of the city. He had no clue whether or not they assumed that he died, but… hunches. His gut told him that they were in hot pursuit of him, somehow.

It was a good thing that he was so close to Tibet now, but he was exhausted... he had done something irreparable, all because of what he feared Kyūken would become otherwise. The latter’s chain was clearer now, coiling around his treasured jian and snuggling his precious item… which Mura took back and intended to return to the museum at first, now regretful of all of his actions. Kyūken managed to sweet-talk him into keeping it around, and in return for his troubles, Kyūken wanted to teach Mura about his allegedly unbeatable sword style called Niten Muryū. The name 'Niten' made Mura's eyes widen... realizing that this Soul was no mere stranger.

Kyūken was beyond impressed by how fast Mura managed to adapt to Niten Muryū, already capable of releasing a single Reiryoku-infused Kamaitachi from swinging Harukami after a few days. Mura recognized the feeling of channeling Reiryoku through a sword like this, but Kyūken’s fighting style was extremely taxing, even for his physical capabilities. In order to clarify Mura’s gauging of these skills, Kyūken taught him how to perform the Breath of Day and Night – a special breathing technique that would grant him much more stamina in order to perform Niten Muryū much easier. Mura used the high altitude at the mountains as control, and at one point, he was unable to notice the different oxygen levels anymore. He began paying less and less attention to the amount of stamina he had with this technique, which pushed him far ahead of his previous self and actually allowed him to perform Kyūken’s fighting style.

However, the constant walking and settling as a sort of beggar at the Tibetan villages was soul-crushingly… annoying. Instead of begging himself to their hospitalities, he began posing as a 'magician'. It was simple, really – Harukami was rusty but whole, and as long as he didn’t clash against anything directly, the age-old blade could still release Kamaitachi from his powerful swings. He used them to cut through boulders and into precipices, learning a range of techniques in the meantime - from creating a small tornado in front of him, to form X-shaped cuts through hill walls, and even how to thrust with enough force to penetrate rock from afar. At one point, he even cleaved a small hill in half at one point, feigning it off as magical works as a sort of entertainer for the Tibetan youth. The people were more than eager to accommodate him afterwards, dubbing him the Sword of Miracles.

This allowed Mura to earn from actual practice of Kyūken’s sword arts, which stabilized his current process. He still had to meet his old Head Master’s friends at some point, but Mura’s current status as a wanted burglar could make things awkward. Years passed by, traveling around Tibet’s mountainous regions, visiting many settlements and so many people, earning enough to live, sleep and train. He’d become a sort of a nomad now.

...

Mura had lately settled inside of a Shaolin Monastery, deciding to widen his martial arts horizon a little more – much to Kyūken’s offense who thought that Niten Muryū would be all Mura ever needed. The Shaolin monks were extremely wary of him first, but Mura’s physical capabilities were extraordinary, and they became interested in passing down their crafts to him.

Mura didn’t become a professional successor of Shaolin technique or anything, but the concept of Fa Jin intrigued him. He spent many days practicing his fast-switching muscles on his arms and legs, attempting to move a very short distance at a very high speed – like a one-inch punch, or a leap without bending his knees. The Shaolin monks were dedicated, but Mura’s Reiryoku attributed favorably with his increasing martial arts skills, allowing Mura to leap much further than any ordinary human could dream of, and punch much faster than any ordinary human could ever hope of.

Unfortunately, Mura once again encountered what his Head Master had warned him about so long ago – a creature with a skull-like mask for a face as it preyed on other Shaolin monks. Mura was astonished by his progress as he quickly pushed the Hollow into a corner with his accumulated skills, outspeeding and outpacing the creature many times over, but his overconfidence resulted in an opening found by the surprisingly large monster, which severed his left arm from the rest of his body.

Mura was in immense pain, losing ample amounts of blood from the injury. Covering his wound with a cloth had led to the deaths of a dozen Shaolin monks, after which Mura finally dealt a finishing blow to the monster’s mask – akin to how the Head Master had killed the previous Hollow he met. But Mura fainted a few moments later, almost succumbing to his wound.

» Dokkōdō | Age 25-29
The Shaolin monks did their best to treat Mura's open wound. Mura was kept within the monastery for 2 years in order to recover fully, even receiving aid from international practitioners of medicine who cared not for his name or status. However, the experience... scarred him. Made him terrified of these demons, regardless of how powerful he was now. Fearing that it'd return, somehow, he ended his recovery by leaving the monastery with bandages covering his stub of a left arm.

The last 4 years were a bit intense - Mura was constantly fearful of these demonic creatures, which he had meet on 3 other occassions after last time - one of which had been strong enough to slap down large boulders and fling them at him - so he doubled down on mastering the Niten Muryū that Kyūken boasted so much of. Despite only having one, functioning arm now, he could still fend for himself... as long as he always wielded Harukami. Despite his injury, he was able to not only release one, but a handful of Kamaitachi with a single sword swing, and with amazing precision, and Kyūken could almost see himself in Mura with such mastery.

On top of that, Mura pondered over how he could redeem himself - he didn't want to remain in Tibet forever as a fleeing criminal! He wanted to clear his name, somehow, and return to his parents! Fully giving up on meeting his Head Master's friends, at least until he could get his life back on track...


» Natural Abilities:

Quick Learner:
When it comes to human martial arts, a natural trait of his has been his ability to quickly catch on to new tricks and techniques that were taught to him. This has helped him collect many physical skills in short spans of time, but it also attributes to his deduction skills and observative ability, like a detective of some sort. He's able to catch onto things with his eyes quite quickly.

Extreme Legwork:
One of the core principles of swordsmanship is legwork and footwork. Being able to dash with his feet and utilize the explosive power in his legs is a must, and having utilized that skill every time he clashed in battle against someone has been the greatest training for him. He can keep good track of his foothold, brake in his tracks with ease, change direction in his dashes and, simply put, jump really good. He can also walk for miles without end, even if his feet get covered in rashes.

Great Swordsmanship:
Being a successor of a lethal, inhuman sword art couldn’t have been possible without practicing and mastering several schools of Kenjutsu and many variants – Kendō, Iaidō (or Battō), Jūkendō, Nitō (currently impossible with only one arm), Ittō, and many in-between styles. In his young age, he’s still aiming to be unmatched in Kenjutsu by utilizing a unique fighting style that was thought to have been lost to time - and he's come a long way, as many can testify. But knowing these common sword styles like the back of his hand is extremely handy, too.


» Powers:

Spiritual Awareness:

Spiritual Prowess:

Niten Muryū (二天無流, Two Heavens Void Style):

Yoruhiru no Kokyū (夜昼の呼吸, Breath of Day and Night):

Hakkei (発勁, Fa Jin):

» Equipment:

Harukami (春神, Spring Spirit):

Suiteki (水笛, Water Flute):

Prayer Necklace:

(To Find Out about what these skills are for, please READ THIS THREAD before you try doing anything to it)

General Skills
» Durability: D
» Speed: C
» Strength: D
» Soul: C

Will Skills
» Willpower: Beginner
» Deduction: Adept
» Focus: Beginner

Human Skills
» Power Control: Adept
» Physical Augmentation: Adept
» Spiritual Adaptation: Adept
» Mediumship: Adept


» Roleplay Sample: Already got Ranma.