Hanako Ikezawa // Edge

[Hanako Ikezawa]

HANAKO "HANA" IKEZAWA

And the risk that might break you
Is the one that would save
A life you don't live is still lost
So stand on the edge with me
Hold back your fear and see
Nothing is real 'til it's gone

"I-if you have something better to do, then that's f-fine..."

THE BASICS;;
NAME: Hanako Ikezawa
AGE: 16
SEX: Female
CODENAME: Edge
ALIASES: Hana
AFFILIATION: Hero
STATUS: Trying to decide between living a normal life as best as she can, or using her abilities to help others.
CANON: No
PLAYBY: Hanako Ikezawa from Katawa Shoujo



THE GOOD STUFF;;

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Standing at 5'5" with a slightly hunched posture, Hanako is very clearly not going to be intimidating anyone any time soon. Her hair, which reaches down to the small of her back, is what could be called a "midnight blue"; sometimes it seems to have an almost violet sheen, but it's really dependent on the lighting it's viewed under. Hanako's presence is small and unobtrusive, at times seeming more like a fragile doll than a human being. On one side of her body, from the side of her right leg all the way up to the right-side of her face, is a livid burn scar that she's extremely self-conscious about. Her bangs are cut in a way that she shadow over the right-side of her face, and seeing her in anything that has short sleeves or bares her legs would be a rarer occurrence than a shooting star.

Generally if you stumble across her in Jump, she's going to be wearing her school uniform. If it's one of the uncommon times she's decided to go out for whatever reason, she does actually have what one would consider a "look": a pair of simple sneakers or boots, a pair of long-legged pants (usually blue jeans), an undershirt, a small jacket usually left open, and an understated hat, most of these articles being in muted colors so as to not stick out like a sore thumb.

Hanako's costume consists of what is basically (at first glance) material very similar to the ambiguous spandex-like materials that many heroes wear; the ensemble is a muted teal color, with a thick black stripe running vertically down the middle. There's also a cowl that slips over her head, covering up her entire face with two mirrored lenses. It's what is underneath the surface that sets apart her costume. Nothing altogether too special, however; an insulated layer just under the topmost layer of fabric, padded joints, and lightweight ceramic plates over her chest, across her back, and on both her forearms and thighs. Her hands are left bare to facilitate the use of her power.

PERSONALITY:
A kind and genuine person, Hanako is overwhelmingly shy and introverted to the point where she has difficulty fitting into social events and climates. This stems from the psychological problems that arose after a particularly traumatic childhood incident. She's also deathly afraid of fire for the same reason, and both references and inquisitorial remarks towards her parents or birthday have the potential to make her sink into a deep depression. It's not impossible for her to warm up to others, however, and anyone that sticks with her might be pleasantly surprised to discover that she's a very loyal and trusting friend.

Hanako has recently started thinking about becoming a small-time hero, and when in costume it wouldn't be wrong of you to assume that her confidence receives a boost from the anonymity. In fact, her nervous stuttering is virtually non-existent while she's behind the mask. As a heroine she's no longer Hanako Ikezawa. She's someone better.

POWERS AND/OR ABILITIES:
Hanako's only power can be described as Power Mimicry and Vampirism. By establishing some kind of physical contact with another person and willing the action to occur, Hanako can accomplish one of the two following actions: A) she can mimic the person's powers and innately unnatural abilities, or B) she can 'siphon' the power from her target, weakening them as well as strengthening her physical attributes. All of the effects from this power are temporary, and the effects scale up depending on how long the physical contact lasted. For the most part, a touch lasting about 15 seconds is good enough to last her through a short fight.

As long as her target knows how to use their power, Hanako will as well after the physical contact is ended; it's entirely likely that her power transfers the knowledge necessary to access and utilize any power she copies. This doesn't equate to experience or focus (barring the possibility that one of the target's powers or unnatural abilities covers that), however; if she were to initiate contact with someone who possessed the power of control over an element, for example, she'd be able to duplicate that control but have difficulty doing any complex actions with it.

WEAKNESSES:

• Awkwardly shy and easily intimidated.
  
• Lack of self-confidence and self-worth.
  
• If she can't manage to get her hands on someone, then she functionally has no powers.
  
• She possesses no real fighting experience.
  
• A deathly fear of fire.

GOALS: To find her own sense of self-worth. To make an impact on other people's lives.

HISTORY:

Hanako's childhood was a fairly normal one, living alongside her mother and father in their house in northern Japan. It was an idyllic setting; two loving parents and an adorable daughter, who despite being soft-spoken at times had still yet to grow out of the phase of childhood wonder. She got along well with children her age, took to her studies well, and rarely got into any arguments, if ever. She was, however, notably distressed when her parents informed her that they'd be moving to the States as part of a promotion her father had received. She wasn't inconsolable, however, and her parents promised that they'd help her stay in contact with a few of her best friends no matter where they ended up moving.

Contrary to the worries of her childhood self, initially nothing really changed with their new home. She found herself acclimating to her new surroundings quite well; while she wasn't nearly as fluent in English as she was in Japanese, her father (who was learned in the language by necessity of his job) had been teaching it to her infrequently alongside her native tongue from a young age, so she could at least communicate with the other children around her age. She was entered into a good school district, her parents settled down in their new house, and her father returned to his work at his new position in the company.

There's no way that what happened next couldn't have been an accident. At some point in the night while the three of them were sleeping, a fire broke out in their home; the cause was never identified, despite the thorough investigation launched immediately afterwards. By the time the smoke detector had gone off, jerking the three of them out of their deep slumbers, the blaze had already spread considerably in a short amount of time. They quickly realized that the exits of their house were blocked. It's unclear as to what happened next - there are no witnesses other than Hanako, and she's blocked the majority of the traumatic event from her mind - but things can be inferred; the fire flared up, possibly reacting to some kind of accelerant it had engulfed, and scorched the length of Hanako's right side. Hanako collapsed to the floor in the fetal position, and her father sheltered her from the encroaching flames with his body. When the fire department and paramedics arrived on the scene, they found the little girl in a state of shock next to the bodies of her parents - due to various complications, neither of them survived the event.

Immediately after being released from the hospital, the young girl was put into the foster care of a kindly young woman who was currently pursuing a career in teaching. While she was understandably frustrated in how difficult it was to get through to Hanako after what she'd been through, the two of them did manage to form a familial bond that has been, by-and-large, an incredibly healthy experience for Hanako.

With the job market on the decline and on the verge of losing her own teaching position, Hanako's foster mother put in some calls to some old friends and discovered that Jump City's high school had an open position that was perfect for her. Not wanting to place any undue stress on Hanako, her foster mother had a discussion with her to see what her opinion was on the matter. Despite the situation bringing up harmful memories of a better time, Hanako agreed that the proposed solution was the best. For the second time in her life, she'd be moving - she didn't feel like she was abandoning her friends, like she had the first time. This time, she felt like she was putting distance between her and...whatever it was she felt she was running from.



THE NITTY-GRITTY;;
SCREENNAME: PTAV
Time spent roleplaying: Around 10 years.
Other Characters: Wally West/Kid Flash; Ildon Anozon/Herald of Fate; Shibyou Ren Aylen/Pazuzu

RP Sample: N/A