| Kazuki Fuuchouin | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Kanji |
風鳥院花月 |
|
Affiliation |
Fuuga |
|
Other Names |
Kazuki of the Strings, Prince of Terror |
|
Occupation |
Informer, Investigator |
|
Age |
20 |
Kazuki
Fuuchouin (風鳥院花月, Fūchōin Kadzuki) is one of the major secondary characters. He was also called by the Orpheus in Divine Design.
Appereance & Personality[]
Kazuki is the scion of the noble Fuuchouin family, and his fighting abilities derive from the family school, which emphasizes grace (麗). He is graceful and charming, and is often mistaken for a woman because of his long hair and feminine face. But when angered, his fury is such that his notorious other title is "Prince of Fear". Kazuki is also often depicted as a naïve person in terms of his relationships. He trusted his friends even after they betrayed him, leading to him being taken advantages by the likes of Saizou Toufuuin and Toshiki Uryuu. However, it is also his unerring trust that keeps his friends and followers to flock to him. Due to his job as an annaiya or information seeker, Kazuki knows a lot of things. His origins as the heir to a famous and ancient martial arts' school provides him with the privilege of knowing a lot about religions, history and cults, and undoubtedly is one of the wisest people in the series.
Background[]
His family house was destroyed, and his family killed, in a mysterious fire when Kazuki was in his early teens (which was revealed to be an attack by an enemy clan, who uses black strings); he subsequently fled with Juubei and Sakura Kakei, where he led a gang known as 'Fuuga' (風雅 Fūga, translation: 'Elegance'). It was during this Kazuki created the Stigma" his left eye carries earning him the nickname the "Prince of Fear" due to the cruelty he exhibited in battle. As the leader of Fuuga Kazuki was respected and feared by many, and also known outside underground circles due to his noble past. Even without using his Stigma his powers, rendered from the Fuuchouin arts, were already formidable enough to send enemies quaking.
However, Kazuki's gentle and compassionate nature, when not using the Stigma, often made him less confident to face his enemy, as was shown when he fought his comrades form Fuuga days: Toshiki Uryuu (Kazuki lost out altogether due to Toshiki's being more informed about the powers of the God's Design pseudo-Tarot cards) and Saizou Tofuuin (Kazuki pleaded for rational thought with Saizou continuously before Saizou snapped Kazuki's patience and activated his Stigma).
In the Shinjuku area, Kazuki is an annaiya, or information seeker, who searches for information or a person for a price. This is how he met both Shido and Ranma. It is probably from his career as an information-seeker that he seems to be the most informative character in the series.
While fighting against Saizou, who boasted of his strength after he activated his Black String seal, Kazuki explained to him that the 'Stigma' is not merely a device to increase one's strength. He said that the mark is a sign of his mission to avenge and restore his clan. This property was manifested in his final fight with Yohan.
Abilities[]
Fuuchouin-ryuu[]
Kazuki is a the current master of the Fuuchouin String Arts often called "Ito no Kazuki" (絃の花月 Kazuki of the Strings), an epithet which, albeit sounding harmless enough, is one of the most feared names in Shinjuku. He uses two bells as his medium tied to the front right strand of his hair to ease manipulation (most of the time, Kazuki is portrayed as a dominantly left-handed person, as he wields the bells among his left fingers and manipulate them with his right—a task usually linked with the less dominant hand. However, in his battle against Saizou, he displays some dexterity with his right hand).
Though his fighting skills are far above average, it can be noted that he often ends up badly hurt even if he wins a fight. Sometimes, he even loses them as well.
Red String[]
Aside from the usual white strings, Kazuki also uses a special string, the Red String. In the Divine Design arc, when Kazuki's soul was trapped by Uryuu, the Red String flew from his side to Juubei so that Juubei knew that Kazuki was in grave danger. In an intense moment it is revealed that the Red String is a symbol of an oath between Kazuki and Juubei, apparently made after the massacre of the Fuuchouin clan, that whenever Kazuki 'strays' (as is shown when he is under the Divine Design spell), Juubei is to kill him to save others from Kazuki's purges.
Stigma[]
Kazuki has a Stigma in his left eye and when he reveals it, his fighting strength increases drastically.