Armor



'"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." '

- Mohandas Gandhi

History
Born into relative obscurity in the tourist trap that is Nikko, a city in Tochigi, Japan about 140km north of Tokyo and 35km west the prefectures capital. Being brought up in such a city was nothing short of amazing. It is the one time in her life she looks back on with a full unabashed smile. Surrounded by a nation parks and famous shrines it was here that Hisako gained her appreciation of her native culture exacerbated even more so by her move to America at age seven and growing need to prove her heritage amongst a foreign society. In terms of school, Hisako wasn't an over achiever so to speak, but she felt it was her duty to not only her family but more importantly herself to do well; despite her drive in school work Hisako was equally as driven in the social aspects, wanting to get the most out of life even at a young age. Her true friends had always be few and loyal but her acquaintances many, just the way she liked it.

The manifestation of her powers at the age of twelve changed her. How could they not?

Despite expecting people to treat her like a normal young girl it seemed people couldn't get over the fact that she was from a different country. There is never an excuse for racism of course but children are children for a reason, to make mistakes and learn from them, that is childhood. The school bullies found any number of reasons to pick on poor young Hisako. Whether it was her appearance or her school achievements, they always found some reason to taunt her.

… and one day their taunting turned violent. Hisako had had enough. She simply couldn't understand how people could be so stupid as to beat on someone who had done next to nothing provoke such treatment. She had never been a violent girl, and in fact some what detested resorting to physical means, but enough was enough. The Bullies threw the first punch. Her friends jumped into protect her getting caught in the cross fire themselves. And that was the last straw so to speak. With a head full of rage, Hisako lashed out; a colourful aura sprang up around her, not only offering her protection from her bullies but apparently being solid enough to break a few bones in the process.

To the school it didn't matter who threw the first punch; in their eyes Hisako was the one to blame, despite her relative quiet studiousness up until now. While they weren't prepared to expel a high-grade student like Hisako, it was clear she was no longer welcome at the school. By age fourteen she had become so outcast, no thanks to her mutant abilities, that her parents' decided to relocate her some where she would be welcomed with open arms. For a few months now the Ichiki's had been in contact with a man going by the name Charles Xavier. He spoke of a school he headed dedicated to helping teenagers like Hisako through discovering their powers with the hopes of living a normal life. It was a dream come true, and a much needed fresh start.

Hisako took to life at Xavier's school surprisingly easily. Once more she felt like she belonged some where, and after years of being adrift in a sea of mutant hate, she knew now what she had to do. She had a new goal; to become a full member of the X-Men, so no one would have to go through what she did at her last school. She knew she couldn't save everyone from mutant hatred, such a task would surely be impossible, but if she didn't at least try then who was she to preach the ideals imparted by the good professor. In particular she excelled in combat classes with Wolverine, being one of the more offensively equipped students around, and Cyclops' lessons on team work.

As with every golden age however, it was all too soon to end. Increasingly now societies irrational fear of mutants was rising. It was becoming more and more difficult for young mutants like herself to live the lives they were entitled to as citizens of the United States. When talk of an act being passed that would force all mutants to register their details to the government, effectively making them second class citizens, filtered through to her parents, they became frightened for their little girl. Like many other Hisako was pulled from the school and thankfully before its dissolution and moved further up-state.

It wasn't easy but being out of the lime light of mutant politics offered Hisako a reprieve from her troubles, if only a small one. It was a step towards a normal life but naturally it seemed no matter where she went she couldn't get away from people who saw fit to treat her differently to so-called “normal” people. How was she any different to any other person? Despite the obvious inclusion of her x-gene she didn't feel that different from a normal girl so why should she have been treated any differently? How she wished to be young again and living in Japan with no knowledge of mutants or any concept of hate. No matter how much they wished to live a normal life they couldn't have had it. There was news of the slums of New York City being converted into a District X and grotto into which the government could throw mutants as if pursuing an out of sight out of mind version of morality.

As of yet Hisako had escaped this fate, but she couldn't help but wish she had been their for her former friends amongst the x-students. With so many of their kind being relocated to District X Hisako found herself more than ever wanting to be able to help, yet her parents insisted she stay in hiding. They only want to protect her but could you blame her for wanting to help her own kind out? At one point in her life she would have spoken out against violence, but now days it seemed to be the only thing people responded to. She didn't like it, but some times you had to do things you didn't like in the name of what you believe in. She fully supported the X-men's actions during their efforts even if they did lead to the schools closure and the team disbanding.

It was at the opening of 2009 that life changed once again. Some anonymous 'model citizen' had tipped off the local authorities as to Hisako's true nature as a mutant. In the dead of night a MRD squad descended upon their home destroying everything in their path to get to the threat the perceived Hisako to be. In all honesty what could she had done differently? The more she struggled to retain any strain of humanity in their eyes the more she appeared like an animal and the less she struggled the closer she was to rolling over and giving in to the will of a president who saw fit to condemn an entire people to something less than life because of something they couldn't control. What could she do? It was too late. It was always too late. At some point during the ensuing violence her parents had been stuck down by a stray bullet and to make matters worse Hisako hadn't even noticed until they lay motionless in her arms. Preaching something about the greater good the Government agents succeeded in detaining the now distraught young woman, branding her with little difficulty and shipping her off to the District. She had lost hope. Without her parents what was the point?

With no where to go Hisako wandered the streets of District X in hopes of finding an old friend amongst the over crowded slums they passed off as decent living. There seemed to be so many people here. So many people, good and bad alike, trying to live what little life they could branded like cattle. Yet no she had been good friends with, but soon enough she heard upon the grape vine that Xavier had founded a boarding house in the district for those mutants who had no where else to go. If anything it was her only hope of survival. She was over joyed that through out everything they had been through the professor was still striving for a better world for mutants. Now, more than ever, Hisako's dream of becoming some one the mutant community could depend on seemed of grave important. With nothing else left to live for Hisako threw her all in training. If the humans wanted violence and retribution then she had to be ready. There was ticking clock hanging over society and Hisako would not be anything less than the person people could look up to in these times of need.

Personality
Hisako is a teenager with a good head on her shoulders, if there ever was such a thing as a teenage with common sense that is. She could no way be labelled a 'girl scout' as it were, but that doesn't mean she doesn't abide by the rules. She has her opinions and sticks to them but simply put, she is a loyal, sensible and trustworthy girl who is far more interested in following than leading, well, more often than not anyway. She has a strong sense of morality and has never felt the need to put a foot out of line. This doesn't mean she's a push over however. She's … optimistic? Yeah that's it. Optimistic. Typically Hisako is a quiet girl, but she had been known to throw a few extrovert comments every now and then. She isn't shy but neither is she loud or obnoxious.

She knows what it means to be a mutant and is every bit an x-man through and through, despite the fact she is technically only a student still, and naturally rather in-experienced. Even though she would love to show everyone who has ever hurt her friends and family or ever put her kind down a thing or two, she knows as well as any one that it wouldn't achieve a damn thing. It is unfortunate that mutants have to tread so lightly, in her opinion, but then again society has never been perfect has it. While she is a easy person to be around, and an all round average teenage girl, it isn't difficult to tell that the weight of mutant-human relations weighs heavy on her, as with any mutant though come to think of it. In everyday mutant matters, she is a get-the-job-done kind of girl, who would prefer, if it can be helped, not to kill... then again she does what needs to be done to ensure safety and speedy effectiveness. If she can at all help it Hisako would rather something is over with quickly instead of drawing a situation out unnecessarily.

To say she is uncaring toward the problems of the world would be a grave misunderstanding, as she clearly isn't - Like any other teenage girl, she has her moments, but Hisako deals with most of her issues by bundling her worries some where far away, so she doesn't have to think of them - often looking for something to be getting on with as a distraction rather than facing her problems head on. Obviously not the healthiest of practices but its how she was taught to be. She feels that any problem she may have is hers and hers alone, that no one else should have to be worried with such 'unsightly' issues, or worse be hurt by them. She really doesn't like people who think that just because she's optimistic when it comes to life that means she's some stupid kid who doesn't “understand”. Oh she understands life, she knows just how bad things can get, but is it so wrong to hold onto what little hope their kind can get in this world? Is it so wrong to want to not let it bother her?

Under her duty-bound exterior, Hisako is still only young, and when she can she enjoys nothing more than to indulge in the kind of antics any average, ordinary girl would. Shopping, trips with friends, tweeting, chatting, playing the match-maker … you name it. She is easy to make friends with and gets along with most, feeling obliged to give people at least a chance to prove themselves, not that they have to of course. She cannot however tolerate so-called “bad” people. Anyone who hurts her friends better watch their backs, Hisako isn't opposed to throwing a punch or two, especially when she has the protection of her armour. No one is allowed to diss her friends and acquaintances, or even generally feel sorry for themselves for that matter. Though in the later case she would do her best to solve the issue with words... unless of course they need to snap the hell out of it!

At the end of the day - what makes Hisako, Hisako, is her undying dream of proving herself worthy of becoming an X-man. It is something she has dreamed of for a long time, ever since her first contact with “the world's favourite mutant team” at Xavier's original school. She trains her powers daily and is a keen tactician, taking part in all her classes to the fullest of her ability, often as a way of 'making do' with the current climate of mutant hate, mind you. The death of her parents and her banishment to District X further bolstered her dream. She knows that at sometime she will have to move on with her life and do something supposedly 'sensible' with it, although that's a rather subjective thing, but for now she is happy to keep her rather romanticized view of what is means to be an X-man. She knows its not an easy life – but what they stand for... she wants to up hold those ideals, even if no one else will. A dream is a dream, and its her guiding principle. To Hisako, with out hope and dreams, life is pointless. If no one else will save mutant kind then at least she can say she tried her best.

Likes

 * Twitter, and social networking.
 * Korean Pop
 * Hard working values
 * Old Films
 * Culture
 * Friends
 * Firsts

Dislikes

 * Killing etc.
 * The MRD and mutant haters
 * Those who harm her friends
 * Nuts [allergic]
 * Leeches
 * Cheating
 * Cooking

Skills
Tactician – In her original run as an x-student at the old school, Hisako was given tactical lessons by Cyclops himself. Not that she ever uses it... but she could if she wanted. She knows full well the value of team work and can be counted on in a tough situation to pull through for her friends, acquaintances and team mates.

Combat – Like many of her fellow students back in the day, Hisako was put through combat training in the Danger room. In addition to this she frequently pushes her powers and the boundaries of her abilities in the hope of one day being named a full-fledged x-man. Obsessive much?

Linguistic -Less of a skill and more of a necessity, Hisako is fluent in both Japanese and English. While she has little need to learn any more she has an above average ability to grasp languages.

Powers
By drawing on what she calls the strength of her ancestors, Hisako is about to generate a protective layer of psionic armour about her person. This armour is extremely durable and as such grants her enhanced strength that has been said to reach levels capable of lifting tanks and punching through several layers of solid wall – but at most about 2 tonnes, practically about a tonne and a half. As well as offering her great protection against powerful attacks, her armour, by the reasoning that it is durable, also affords her enhanced offensive force. Her armour is durable enough to with stand high levels of heat and strong enough to withstand an impact from quite way up into the atmosphere ,though this hasn't been tested.

In addition to the protection and offensive physical force Hisako's armour provides her with, she has recently discovered she is able to release large amounts of solid concussive energy from the armour. However, such a feat seriously depletes her energy reserves and will almost certainly [at her level of training at least] knock out her armoured form and possibly even throw her unconscious out right.

To a small extent Hisako can manipulate the shape of her armour, to form, for example, blades, some what resembling Wolverine's adamantium claws, as well as, in times of stress, being able to greatly increase the armour's size. The full nature of the origins of her armour is largely unknown to her, however, as it is psionic in nature, it is very possible that it stems almost entirely from some kind “mental strength” she perceives in her mind. As she has indicated on numerous occasions, its the “memory of her ancestors” that bestows this power upon her. This can been seen in practice in the general size, shape and condition of Hisako's armour. For example, with her ancestors strong in mind her armour has taken on a samurai-like shape a number of times; as well as in training mimicking the costumes of others. Even the armour's colour has been known to change depending on the situation, from a calm, neutral shade of blue to an angry red in the midst of a stressful situation.

=Weaknesses= While not much is known to be able to penetrate the barrier that is her psionic armour, two things to date have. One being light based lasers and the second being anything made adamantium or any stronger material. Her weakness to lasers can be readily explained. Naturally her armour has to let light particles through for her to be able to see and since lasers are simply super condensed beams of photons it stands to reason that they can make lite work of her durability.

Although she can fight well enough, without her armour Hisako is really not that much stronger than a regular girl her size build and training. As such, without she becomes infinitely easier to kill, maim, whatever. Her armour can't not last for ever.. and eventually she will tire from the mental exertion leaving her open to attack.