AKARI TESHIMA / RONIN

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BASIC INFO

NAME: Akari Teshima (Japanese: 手島 あかり)
AGE: 26
BIRTHDATE: December 29th, 1998
HEIGHT: 5'5"
OCCUPATION: Ninja, assassin (formerly), vigilante, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent
DIMENSION: Earth-255
SPECIES: Mutant
ETHNICITY: Japanese
SEXUALITY: Lesbian
AFFILIATION: The Hand (formerly), X-Men (briefly), S.H.I.E.L.D.
ALIASES: Yami (formerly), Ronin

ABILITIES:Peak Human Conditioning: Akari keeps herself in great shape and maintains a strict level of training. Her strength, speed, reflexes, agility, durability, and stamina are in top conditioning.
Master Martial Artist: Being trained extensively in multiple martial arts, Akari is an extremely skilled fighter, capable of taking on multiple enemies while taking minimal damage. While many of them are unstated, Ninjutsu is the most noticeable one, and her favored martial art.
Master Acrobat: She is an excellent acrobat capable of many difficult feats. Akari often uses her acrobatic skills to dodge ranged weapons, such as shurikens and bullets.
Master of Stealth: Due to her training as a ninja assassin, she can blend in with the shadows and remain undetected by most humans.
Pressure point locator: She can locate different pressure points on a person's body. She can incapacitate, paralyze, severely injure, or kill a person.
Weapons Expert: Due to her training as a ninja, she is capable of using multiple weapons expertly. Her preferred weapons are kamas, shurikens and kunai.
Markswoman: Akari is skilled with throwing weapons.
Bilingual: She is capable of speaking perfect English, Japanese and Korean.

POWERSSuperhuman Focus and Mental Acuity
Superhuman Senses
Superhuman SpeedAkari's X-Gene was triggered as a result from being kidnapped by the Hand and spending much of her childhood going through relentless training.SUPERHUMAN FOCUS/MENTAL ACUITY:
Akari possesses supernatural focus and mental acuity. She is so in tune with her surroundings, to the point where she is able to freeze time in her own mind, being especially useful for selecting optimal placement to throw her weapons.SUPERHUMAN SENSES:
This ability expands Akari's senses, allowing her to see the unseen, hear the unheard. It allows her to see through walls and detect movement, heat, and even electric current from a great distance away. Akari can also see tripwires and switches that set off traps, as well as detect enemies from a great distance away. Following Akari's acceptance of herself, the power of her senses have been increased exponentially, to the point where her regular senses have been elevated to superhuman levels, allowing her to use her previous level of Farsight without effort.SUPERHUMAN SPEED:
This ability grants Akari the ability to move in short bursts of superhuman speed. She moves so fast, it seems like she completely disappears and reappears elsewhere, as though by teleportation .The supernatural speed is even beyond that which can be detected by high-tech sensors such as motion detectors and laser tripwires. When used in tandem with her Focus, the world around her virtually slows to a crawl, allowing her to do things at supernatural speeds that she would otherwise need to do at regular speeds.

EQUIPMENTDaishō: During her time as a Hand ninja, her weapon of choice was a daishō set. Efficient in using both a katana and wakizashi, she could use them separately, or dual-wield them.
Shurikens: Her throwing weapon of choice. She also has several trick shurikens, including but not limited to explosive shurikens, splitter shurikens, sonic shurikens, net shurikens, web shurikens (courtesy of her brother), flare shurikens and smoke bomb shurikens.
Smoke bombs: Used in stealth and to disorient enemies.
Grappling Hook: Used to climb tall buildings, swing from buildings or get up to high vantage points.
Climbing spikes: Also used to climb things.
Lock picks: Used to pick locks.

SUITS/OUTFITS

YAMI OUTFIT

Her first vigilante outfit worn from 2020 until 2022, though she still wears it from time to time. The mask is actually that of her ex-girlfriend Yuki's, a ninja of the Nail, after she defeated her and the rest of the Nail in a fight sometime during her early days. The mask is worn as both a trophy and a warning to the Hand, warning anyone from the clan that she was able to best one of their most dangerous assassins - and that she will best the rest of them, too.

RONIN SUIT

After moving in with her brother, Akari created a new suit that she could use under her Ronin identity. This one offers enhanced stealth capabilities and increased protection, such as being incredibly resistant to sharp objects and materials like swords and knives. The mask has also been upgraded with a heads-up display.

RONIN 2.0 SUIT

Following the Hand's defeat, there was no longer a need for her mask as a trophy and a warning, and her status as a anti-Hand fighter - so she made a brand new, black and yellow suit that embraced her roots as a ninja while still creating a new image for herself. Like her previous Ronin suit, this one offers considerable protection against sharp weapons, and its black color gives her an effective though unneeded boost when engaging in stealth. It also ups the intimidation factor, a much intended side effect of the design.

PERSONALITYAkari is a calm, serious, and intelligent woman, knowing what she is capable of and how she can use her skills. She's skilled at handling high-pressure situations, being quick-witted from her training and remaining calm to be able to think clearly.There seems to be two different sides to Akari; the first side is her serious, no-nonsense attitude she usually has whenever moonlighting as Ronin, while still keeping the occasional sarcasm, and playing along with Jade-Spider's humor. She usually possesses a calm demeanor as a result. The other side of her is kinder and more social, showcasing a more amicable part of Akari while still keeping a calm and blunt manner. Despite some the occasional brutal honesty and bluntness, she frequently shows compassion for others, being more than willing to make friends with others. She has this demeanor whenever she's out of costume, and it will be quite notable whenever she's with the people she's close with, notably her little brother. Akari also carries a lot of empathy, and this side of her frequently crosses over into her Ronin persona, despite it coming off as serious and or borderline stoic.She has a strong sense of responsibility and justice, always striving to do what is right, save lives and help people in the best way she can, both to atone for her past and simply because it is right. Her primary mission being to drive permanently end the Hand's New York branch, one of the reasons for why she wants them destroyed is because she doesn't want others to suffer because of them, and she knows that millions could if they ever seized control of New York City. Another factor was that she wishes to repent and atone for her past as an assassin. While she previously did not consider herself a hero because of her past, her desire to save people and permanently shut down the Hand can be considered quite heroic. Possessing a strong moral compass, she is selfless and courageous, and will always try to help the people around her.Despite all this, though, Akari still had her flaws to work through: despite having accepting her past, she still feels nothing for guilt for it. For the longest time, she hadn't learned how to accept her past, and as a result often tried to ignore it. Ronin previously chose to work alone, despite the fact that she would stand a much better chance against the Hand if she's working with someone else. While it seemed like she didn't trust people, she was afraid of getting them killed by having them get involved in her fight against the Hand. She was also afraid of people finding out about her past with the Hand, as she used to dwell on the first and only kill, despite trying to forget it. Fearing for her own emotional and mental state and losing her friends and allies, she would either lie about her past when asked about it, or exclude details.However, after accepting her past and forgiving herself, Akari no longer hates herself, and in the process has found mental clarity and peace within herself. She will still withhold details about her past, but will share the full story with those who have fully gained her trust. And while she still feels nothing but guilt for her past, it now serves a deeper purpose: after previously using her guilt to beat herself up, she now uses it to motivate herself to destroy the Hand, and to make sure no one else has to suffer the pain Kate and Eleanor Bishop suffered when she murdered Derek Bishop.Her desire to do what's right and protect people from her former superiors is what drives her, and ultimately, she spends every day of her life to be better than her past, and keeps trying to protect the city of New York from the Hand.

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CHARACTER HISTORY

Junshi Teshima, Jade-Spider's mother, used to be a detective in Kyoto, aiming to help people, no matter how big the case was. However, her investigations placed her into contact with the Hand, a sinister ninja clan who valued power over all else. She'd spend several years gunning for them, and was able to make an impact on their operations, several of them being thwarted thanks to her. However, eventually she fell in love with a man, married him, and gave birth to Akari Teshima. For 2 years, she had grown up living a peaceful life - never passing up an opportunity to listen to Elton John songs on repeat.However, one night, everything changed. One night, the Hand attacked Junshi's home, aiming to kill her, and kidnap and raise her child to be one of their own. Though she was able to escape with her daughter, her husband would not.Realising that she may not be able to protect Akari from the clan, she'd fake her death, give her a new identity, then send her off to an orphanage. Having to send away her daughter broke her mother's heart, which put her off from opening up to anyone.Still pursued by the Hand after fleeing to the United States, she'd bump into Cade Chrysler - a SHIELD agent. Helping her ward off her attackers, she'd also fall in love with him too, deciding to give marriage and parenthood a second shot with the birth of Benjiro Chrysler.As for Akari, the next 6 years of her life were spent in an orphanage, still remembering the last time she saw her mother and longing to see her again. One night, though, despite everything her mother did to conceal her identity, the Hand was able to track her down, and kidnapped her to train her as one of their own.She was trained extensively for 10 years, becoming a master martial artist, acrobat - though the process was extremely stressful and traumatic, triggering a mutation within her that gifted her with powers - enhanced mental acuity, supernatural senses, and short bursts of supernatural speed. She eventually became a full-on ninja and member of the Hand, being assigned to their New York branch, where they did some of their most important work and operations.Successfully carrying out many of their criminal operations, she was considered one of their best enforcers. Despite this, her conscience constantly conflicted with the clan's goals, and deep down did not want to follow their orders as she knew they were wrong and criminal, hating herself a little more every time she did. However, she was forced to do so, due to the fear of losing her life. She despised killing and always showed immense unwillingness and reluctance to do so, thanks to her first (and only) kill on one of her first missions. Trying to infiltrate Bishop Security on the Hand's behalf, she tried blackmailing Derek Bishop into turning a blind eye to their operations. After he refused, Akari would proceed to take the man's life, but that would end up being a mistake that she would end up regretting for the rest of her life. She had taken the life of an innocent person, someone who did not deserve death; and had most likely brought pain and grief to his family. After his body was found by the police and his family was informed of his death, she observed their reaction; empathetic of the pain and grief Bishop's daughter felt, Akari was overwhelmed with immense shame and guilt. Her last piece of respect for herself gone, she wanted to defect, but she knew she would have nowhere to go if she did, and would most likely be killed. Instead, she either faked her kills, used non-lethal methods or spared her opponents in battle, something that put her at odds with her fellow ninja. Additionally, she limited the use of her powers, even actively suppressing them at times - having used them to kill a person, she hated using them. On her 19th birthday, she was selected to be one of the members of a new incarnation of one of the Hand's elite strike teams - the Nail.There was, however, a catch. As a rite of initiation and test of worth, she was given a new mission to go on with the strike force; assassinate someone, much to her chagrin. Knowing she would most likely die if she declined, she accepted, tracking the target to New York City and preparing to take him down. However, once she had the chance to kill him, she could not bring herself to do it, and spared his life - fighting off the rest of the Nail to escape. With no other choice, knowing what was next, she defected and subsequently fled from Japan.For about 3 months, Akari lived her life on the run, and lived in constant shame of her previous association with the Hand. Constantly being hunted by her former superiors, she kept running from them and fighting off any assassins that were sent after her. One day, whilst fighting a squad of ninjas, Akari was discovered by Wolverine of the X-Men - who himself regularly battled the Hand, as well. Recognizing her as a mutant and a defector, and noting her young age, Logan took her in, bringing her to Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning. At the school, Akari learned how to utilize her powers better, and gradually stopped suppressing her powers, though she still limited their use due to her shame and guilt. Additionally, she began to develop a deep sense of admiration for the X-Men, with even viewing Logan as a father figure of sorts - but due to her past crimes, she constantly battled a deep sense of self-loathing and shame. This eventually culminated when she was offered a spot on the team - confessing to the team her past crimes as to why she believed herself unworthy. Despite this, the offer remained - with most of the team arguing it could be a chance for her to begin atoning for her past. But due to the depths of her self-hatred, Akari still declined, believing that she did not deserve a second chance, and as a result left Xavier's Institute to live in hiding from the Hand. Before she quit, though, she found out about her mother's investigations against the Hand and why she sent her away, and dedicated herself to reuniting with her.For a few years, Akari had gone completely off the Hand's radar and attempted to live a regular life - while also trying to figure out her mother's whereabouts, eventually leading her to New York City. However, following Jade-Spider's then-announced absence in October 2020, she realized that his inability to protect the city would be the perfect opportunity for the Hand to increase their criminal activity there. Knowing that there would be no one to stop the Hand now, as well as remembering Logan's words about atonement and her past crimes in the city, she became a vigilante known as Yami (闇), using her powers to fight crime and rejoin the fight against the clan, finally beginning to atone for her past.For the next months, Akari had embraced her goal of ridding New York City of the Hand's influence, having developed a sense of responsibility, justice and honor in her own battle against them, while also coming closer and closer to finding her mother. However, in the December of that same year, her life was turned completely upside down. After seeing the news of Scarlet Spider murdering a married couple, both parents to a 16-year old boy, she recognized the woman's face; it was, in fact, her own mother, having been alive for 2 decades all this time, and having married another man and having another child while at it; a brother.While grieving over the fact that she failed to reunite with her mother, she started to look deeper into who her teenage half-brother was, and it didn't take her long to realize that he was indeed the same vigilante who inspired her to fight back against the Hand again. Although initially wrecked over the fact that she was close to seeing her mother again, and intensely jealous and resentful of her brother for having 17 years of what she never did, she ultimately - and quickly recognized him as the only family he had left, and recognized that he couldn't be having it easy either, as it didn't take long for her to empathize with him. Despite this, though, she stayed away from him; as she believed he deserved a sister who wasn't a murderer, while also being as mentioned incredibly jealous and resentful.But her efforts to stay away didn't last long, as soon enough, both their paths crossed after Jade-Spider was in the process of foiling a Hand operation. After another meeting where she tested his skills in a fight, she ultimately agreed to partner up with him.For the next year, as they both kept taking on the Hand, she gradually began opening up to him, empathizing with his struggles and feelings and eventually coming to openly treat him like he was her little brother. However, after he found out about her past, she tried distancing herself from him out of shame, and did so for over a month, something that proved very counteractive: her shame only got worse, and their fight against the clan started taking turns for the worse, both facing loss after loss while fighting them individually.After Jade found her again in April of 2022, he consulted her regarding her past, saying that it did not define her; and after Akari initially ignored his advice, she tried taking on the Hand alone once more, another choice that backfired; Ben ended up being captured by the Hand.However, following this, she was able to fully realize that he was right. No longer being held back by her past and accepting it, she ditched the name of Yami and took on the title of Ronin, going to face the Hand, saving her brother from certain death and making it off with incredibly valuable Hand intel in the process.After making amends with the Bishop family and confessing her sins, Kate gave Teshima a chance to earn her forgiveness, and thus, Akari was able to forgive herself for her past. Now, she lives together with her little brother, having found inner peace, forgiveness and acceptance. And as a result, she and Ben remain not just partners, but also siblings, both sticking side by side and protecting each other, while also protecting the city from harm, as the Ronin and the Jade-Spider.