Application - Underworld Wars
~Player Information~
Name: Heather
Personal Journal: agentgrrl
Time zone:Central Standard Time
Contact: theagentgirl@AIM
~Character Information~
Fandom: Persona 3 Portable
Name: Akihiko Sanada
Age: 19
Canon Point: October 19th
History: [RIGHT HERE]
Personality: At first glance, Akihiko comes off as very simple, and to be honesty, he can function in a very simple capacity. Those who don't know him as a guy who makes really high marks in school may see him as nothing but a narrow-focused, sports-oriented jock. Contrary to appearances as he rarely hangs out with people, everyone at Gekkokan High knows his name (at least as Akihiko-senpai) as he's the school's golden boy. None of that means anything to Akihiko, however. He'd rather be training. He cares so little for the useless prattle of all the girls that flock to his side, in fact, that he willingly talks about the girls in front of them as though they aren't present, saying he "doesn't even know their names" and that they "talk so much they give him a headache."
All Akihiko wants to do is to train to get stronger. It started as a coping mechanism after his inability to handle the death of his sister, Miki, but quickly turned into an obsession. As Aki put it to Junpei, Yukari, and the Protagonist, "It's like I'm playing a game, only I'm competing against myself." The truth behind his obsession is simple. After Miki's death, Akihiko wanted to become as strong as possible so he could protect everyone. Aki isn't even interested in the sport of boxing itself, as he states to Junpei, "I just wanted to learn how to fight."
Akihiko is a "doer" more than a "thinker" and is the first to jump to doing something when that something needs doing. Whenever there is a direction, such as exploring Tartarus or stopping the shadows that appear ever full moon, Akihiko is always ready to go. He'd rather focus on fighting and his training than leading the group, and is quick to jump to handing the position over to the protagonist, thankful to have the opportunity to simply focus on his training.
Defensive and protective of his friends, he's also the first to believe in people. For example, he never stopped believing in Shinji even when Shinji had stopped believing in himself after Shinji lost control of his persona, causing the death of Ken's mother. Akihiko constantly sought his childhood friend out, encouraging him to rejoin S.E.E.S. though he was always thoughtful enough to not force the issue, that is until Ken himself joined the group. Aki knew Shinji would want to protect the boy, so he forced Shinjiro to rejoin, knowing full well Shinji wouldn't be able to say no. There aren't many things that will bring out Akihiko's plotting and manipulative side, but they needed all the help they could get.
After Shinji took two bullets for Ken, something changed in Akihiko. He realized all the training was really just him running from his past, from not being good enough, and from facing reality. He threw himself into training so he didn't have to feel, and allowed himself to believe he could save everyone as long as he was strong enough. Shinji's sacrifice shocked him into realizing the truth: he'd been running. He made a vow to Shinji then to stop running, and to face all his problems head on.
His determination didn't change his underlying drive that much, though. Akihiko is still focused on training and getting stronger, but now it lacks the edge of protection in exchange for the drive to fight. In order to face the foes they are facing, Akihiko knows he has to be as strong as possible, because now, not only is he fighting for himself and for Miki, but he's also fighting for Shinji.
In personal conversations, Akihiko comes off as awkward. Being so focused on training, that tends to be a lot of what he talks about (that or going for ramen) and it tends to put girls off if he actually talks to them. Basically, he really doesn't know how to talk to girls, and he's never taken the time to explore his feelings regarding them, either. Girls are an alien territory he's never thought to tread, which makes for some interesting situations.
Skills/Abilities: Akihiko is able to summon the Persona Caesar. It has the abilities listed here and here. Though able to heal and call upon the powers of lightning, Caesar is primarily a persona specializing in strength, and the strength and agility of Caesar is something Akihiko can always pull on without having to summon his persona. As such, Akihiko is able to be faster and stronger than the average human.
His Persona's weakness is Ice magic of all kinds, and it can knock him out faster than just about anything.
First Person Sample:
[Audio]
Okay. I'm not stupid enough to think I'm in Iwotodai anymore, so, uh, my name's Akihiko. I don't know if anyone can hear this, but if you have any information, like..when the train might be back, I'd appreciate it. I like skipping class as much as the next guy, but I think I missed my stop.
Third Person Sample:
The rhythmic beeping of the medical equipment around him had become a familiar backdrop to his visits. The shallow rise and fall of Shinji's chest, depressing to the others, was a comfort to him. Shinji hadn't given up, even though the doctors were surprised he was still holding on. They were convinced Shinji wouldn't wake up, but Aki thought differently. Shinji had always blamed himself for what had happened to Ken's mother, and it had all culminated on the 4th. And Shinji had saved Ken. He'd redeemed himself. Aki only hoped Shinji could see that.
"You know that, right?" Silence was his response. He'd gotten used to that as well. "You know that Ken doesn't blame you, not anymore." He was quiet for a moment. He and Ken, they'd both changed. Aki had always thought, after Miki's death, all he could do was get stronger, to make sure that he'd always be able to save people who were unable to save themselves. Shinji's sacrifice, his selflessness, had proven to Akihiko beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'd been wrong. He hadn't been helping, being selfless, being a hero. He'd been running from his failure, from his pain.
So had Shinji for a while, hiding behind sedatives to quiet his Persona and running from his responsibility. But in the end, Shinji had risen above that, had sacrificed everything to save Ken, and that...Aki couldn't ignore it. Everyone else was so sad, but Aki was proud, proud to call himself Shinji's friend, and proud that he could carry on the message that Shinji had left behind. They were the only ones who used their powers to save people, and that's just what he would do.
"Ken's rejoined us. We're going to stop this. We only have one battle left, Shinji, and then this whole nightmare'll be over." He heaved a sigh and stood, heading towards the door, then he turned back, looking at the motionless prone form on the bed, listening to the beeps for a few moments. "Ramen's pretty good when you're skipping class, so you'd better wake up. It's boring skipping alone." And he turned to go.