🐧 Ｓａｋｕｍａ Ｊｉｒｏｕ (佐久間 次郎) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
substrategist) wrote2017-02-02 10:28 am
substrategist) wrote2017-02-02 10:28 am
Entry tags:
CHARACTER PROFILE
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SAKUMA JIROU
MIDFIELDER
CANON
PHYSICAL
MISC
NMS BLUE BARRACUDAS
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SAKUMA JIROU
MIDFIELDER
BASE STATS
HISSATSU
EMPEROR'S EGG
The ability to summon with the tweet of a whistle (that sounds like a penguin) a soccer ball that is capable of withstanding immense amounts of damage but otherwise possesses no special attributes excluding its unique bright white and vivid red coloring. Its durability allows for it to be infused with energy from the hissatsu techniques listed above, but only for the duration of a single attack or attack + assist combination. Once the ball's rotation is stopped, the energy that has been accumulated immediately disperses and once again renders the ball ordinary. A second tweet of the whistle (red and white and shaped like a penguin) will cancel the summoning and cause the ball to disappear. This ability cannot be performed without the use of this whistle, but because the power is restricted to the object, it can be used by anyone in possession of it. Due to the nature of the whistle being adhered to Sakuma and his abilities it cannot be broken, but because it is also a physical object, it can be contained and, if Sakuma should die or be Ported out, the whistle will disappear along with him. OMNIPOTENT MIND'S EYE
This is the ability to perceive and interpret the "soul" and "intent" of another person. Essentially, this will allow Sakuma to do things like read people more accurately and identify or translate the things they're most likely to do or say in any given situation, even allowing him to mirror their movements and speech at the same time as them; determine if someone in his immediate vicinity is a threat or not; and once it is more thoroughly trained, it can even be used as a method of lie-detection. This ability is limited to a radius of 10 meters and cannot be used over the network. It is also subject to a couple of drawbacks: 1) anyone whose aura or intentions are particularly sinister may result in Sakuma's temporary physical paralysis and mental shutdown, and 2) anyone with abilities or even naturally honed skills that allow them to fool a polygraph test might be capable of successfully bypassing Sakuma's power either fooling him into thinking they're telling the truth, or simply rendering him unable to tell one way or the other if they're lying. It's also important to note that this ability is not actually mind-reading and works on the level of extremely accurate guesswork, and for those who would like to plot with it, I have an opt-in post over here. |
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SAKUMA JIROU
MIDFIELDER
PERSONALITY
Taught to think and act like a unit within Teikoku, with respect for chain of command and efficiency both being of the utmost importance to their play style, Sakuma's idea of individuality was effectively dampened. This isn't to suggest that he does not think for himself or want things separate from his team, only that Sakuma has become much more cautious about expressing his own desires than the average person, particularly when his inclinations are borne from his envy or jealousy of others. Unsurprisingly, negative reinforcement was crucial in the shaping of Teikoku, from the way Kageyama arranged to have all potential substitutes watch practices and games from the sidelines (as a reminder that failure is unsightly and no one is irreplaceable) to the way Sakuma and Genda were once briefly manipulated into turning on Kidou for the sake of achieving greater power and recognition. After all, while Sakuma can sometimes seem overconfident and even arrogant, he is still someone who depends greatly on his team's opinion of him. Perceived abandonment can and has resulted in feelings of inadequacy, but after witnessing firsthand how his culminating resentment could be manipulated by others and how terribly that affected Kidou, Sakuma aspired to keep from allowing his emotions any opportunity to influence him. Instead, we see much of his dependence on Kidou and the rest of Teikoku transform with him: evolving from hostile showmanship to quiet and astute observance, and from selfishly vying for attention and strength to protective and slightly more well-adjusted behaviors, where speaking out of turn is only done for the benefit of others and not himself. Ultimately, Sakuma is content being with and being useful to the people who matter most to him, and whether or not he receives recognition for his efforts is something that matters very little. This can be seen in the way he supports and stands up for his friends: prior to joining Inazuma Japan, he supports Endou's team coming to Teikoku to learn a special Teikoku hissastu technique; when Kidou begins to second guess whether or not he truly betrayed Teikoku by joining Raimon, Sakuma is the one to tell him that he made the correct decision, reassuring him that where Kidou is now is where he is able to be the most true to himself; when Kageyama reappears, he assists Kidou in attempting to track him down; when Fudou deliberately tries to rile up Kidou when he is invited to join Inazuma Japan, and appears again to be trying to do the same during a practice later on, Sakuma doesn't hesitate to raise his voice and tell him off; and when Kageyama becomes the coach for Orpheus during the FFI, he even participates in a match to help Orpheus' players from being ejected from the team and replaced by Kageyama's own. Sakuma's competitive but supportive nature can also be seen in the way he plays soccer: ardently pursuing players across the field; following subtle cues and performing shoot assists or multi-person hissastsu attacks; painstakingly devising a strategy mid-play to try and predict opponents' movements and intercept the ball; and even lecturing other players when their head isn't in the game. It's obvious that Sakuma works hard and he by no means shortchanges himself or those who have helped his skills to mature. From Teikoku to Raimon, he knows that he wouldn't have made it as far as he has if he were on his own. The enduring spirit he possesses wasn't only shaped by hardship but through forging new friendships and—in the case of many of the people they've met and teamed up with along the way—through learning to understand and even forgive. Neither of which come easily to him as someone who was initially taught by Kageyama that forgiveness was weakness, and weakness was unacceptable. With Teikoku, Sakuma operated primarily as a midfielder and backup strategist, making him an adaptable player and a reliable lieutenant. As a member of Inazuma Japan, whose captain is Endou Mamoru, Sakuma remains equally malleable on the field but continues to display not-so-subtle behaviors that suggest he still views Kidou as his captain and probably always will. His loyalty to Teikoku is paramount, and while he worries about ever disappointing Kidou again or being at odds with him, Sakuma is willing to take the brunt of any upset if it means he is able to keep his captain from harm. It is by no means an exaggeration to say he would follow Kidou into Hell, for at the end of the day, what he wants most is to remain at Kidou's side and to challenge the world through their newly embraced idea of soccer: and win. HISTORY
We first encounter Sakuma during a practice match between his school, the elite academy Teikoku Gakuen, and another school with a markedly weaker soccer team, Raimon Jr High. At the instruction of their captain, Kidou, Sakuma and the rest of Teikoku's players participate in a few 'warm up' exercises with the goal of intimidating Raimon's team prior to the match, an aggressive show of skill (and arguably poor sportsmanship) that was taught to them by their cold and calculating commander and coach, Kageyama Reiji. However, despite Teikoku having a reputation for demolishing the schools that lose to them, winning isn't their objective when they come to stand on Raimon's soccer field. So why play such a weak team, you might ask? Kageyama orders the two teams against one another so that the fierce play style of Teikoku can garner the attention of Gouenji Shuuya, a student newly transferred to Raimon from a defeated school, and a player they are interested in recruiting for their own team. And their plan to draw him out works. Successfully managing to lure Gouenji onto the field through a series of physically brutal plays, they are able to see what he was capable of for themselves. Gouenji scores against Teikoku and having achieved what they came for, Teikoku forfeits the practice match and withdraws. Sakuma doesn't appear or speak much for a while after that, and is shown only briefly outside of Raimon Jr High with Kidou after they deploy a spy to join Raimon's ranks and feed them information about the team's progress. When Sakuma appears again later, it is during a rematch versus Raimon who has grown much stronger by that time, but Kageyama has no real interest in letting the two teams play each other. Instead, he rigs the stadium at Teikoku with a trap that will, if successful, permanently take Raimon out of the running—a plan that Kidou thankfully figures out. After Kageyama's disgraceful attempt to quite literally crush Raimon, he and the rest of Teikoku follow Kidou's example and cut ties with their commander. But they don't abandon their match. Instead, after Kageyama is arrested and the field is repaired, they secure a substitute coach and Teikoku plays versus Raimon, a game both sides have been looking forward to...and a game Teikoku loses 2-1, effectively breaking their school's 40-year-old winning streak. Of course, losing on their own terms feels a lot better than winning on Kageyama's. They are free from that point on to play soccer their way and they couldn't be happier. At least until Teikoku is brutally defeated during the Football Frontier by Zeus, a new team led by Kageyama. The injuries they sustain are so extensive that the team (sans Kidou, who was injured during the match with Raimon and could not play) winds up hospitalized. During that time, Kidou decides to seek assistance from Raimon in defeating Zeus and he joins their team. Unfortunately, this decision is not one that comes without consequences, and as a result, those left on Teikoku, particularly Sakuma and Genda, feel as though they were cast aside and abandoned for 'stronger' players. Feelings that are then manipulated by Kageyama and Fudou when the Aliea Meteorite is discovered. Recruited by Kageyama for Shin Teikoku, they challenge Raimon with a sort of reckless abandon and, through the use of forbidden techniques, sacrifice their well-being in return for unparalleled strength. In the end, however, it isn't enough. Sakuma continues to use Kotei Penguin 1gou despite Kidou's protests and, before long, is rendered unable to move from the pain racking his body, ultimately falling unconscious. The match ends in a tie. Unsatisfied with the results, Kageyama flees the scene, going so far as to sink the submarine host to the school's stadium, which the heroes manage to only narrowly escape. Barely conscious back on land and being transferred to an ambulance, Sakuma tells Kidou that he's sorry. It's been so long since they saw each other, and he doesn't even have the strength left following that match to shake his hand. He's grateful, though. His eyes have been opened. But he was also happy for having been able to glimpse Kidou's world, even for a moment. They promise to play together again once Sakuma is healed...and that takes a long time. Even when Raimon visits Teikoku again later to learn the Death Zone hissatsu technique, Sakuma is still on crutches and isn't fully mobile again until the selection for Japan's FFI team where, despite playing well, he is ultimately not selected to join. It's not until Midorikawa is injured that Sakuma is finally able to play soccer with Kidou again, but almost as soon as the team arrives on Liocott Island for the FFI tournament, Sakuma and Kidou run into a man who looks startlingly like Kageyama Reiji. Believing that Fudou may know something about Kageyama after he disappears during a practice, Kidou runs off to go and find him. Determined to keep Kidou from running into Fudou or Kageyama alone in his current state, Sakuma gives pursuit, but what he finds instead isn't Kidou, but Demonio Strada. Kageyama's Kidou replacement. He hurries afterwards to find Kidou, and manages to catch him before Kidou boards a Liocott Island bus where he tells him they'll continue their search together. A search that ultimately leads them, along with Endou and Fudou whom they meet aboard the bus, to a part of the island where Italy's team is staying. There, they learn that Kageyama hopes to replace Orpheus as Italy's national team, but after many of their players are injured, the only way to move forward is with the help of Endou, Kidou, Sakuma, and Fudou as player substitutes. For Kidou, it means playing opposite his look-a-like, Demonio, who hasn't only copied his appearance, but has also copied his hissatsu and movements, making for a particularly grueling match. Fortunately, Sakuma is already well aware of how that might affect Kidou, and he's able to help return Kidou's head to the game with a few sharp words and a sharp kick of the ball...but it's Fudou who truly knocks sense back into him when Kageyama's influence once again takes over. Having been under Kageyama's control in the past, and having come along on their search to find him and declare his independence, Fudou tells Kidou that they are no longer puppets. It becomes clear to everyone then, including Sakuma, that Fudou really is on their side after all. Kidou, along with Fudou and Sakuma, pull off a genius play together and, with a new hissatsu technique, Kotei Penguin 3gou, take the lead in the game. Having been overpowered, Demonio realizes the error of his ways and, removing the trappings that made him Kidou's clone, he and his team continue the match but choose to play soccer their way. In the end, however, it's team Orpheus that wins. But Kageyama proves to once more be one step ahead of them. He reveals to Endou, Kidou, Sakuma, and Fudou that while they were here helping Orpheus, they are missing the beginning of their match versus Argentina's team, The Empire. Which he (and Garshield, the puppet master pulling Kageyama's strings) arranged to have moved to today. As the clock counts down, they must make a mad dash across the island and back to the stadium and pray they make it in time to help their team... |
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SAKUMA JIROU
MIDFIELDER
PLAYER INFO
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NMS TIMETABLE (Pending)
Spanish (Day 2)
Family Science (Day 2)