都筑 麻斗

      Asato Tsuzuki was born February 24, 1900.

      Tsuzuki is presently deceased; he would mercifully pass Jan 20, 1927 by his own hand after eight years of fruitless attempts. A medical freak of nature, catatonic, drifting in and out of a conscious dreamy haze. To the shock and awe of the staff, particularly one enamored doctor, he would survive these years without sleep, food, or water, invulnerable to time, seemingly ageless. Otherwise successful suicide attempts would rapidly heal, gashes turned to ugly scars overnight.

      This incredible patient was first discovered in a village swarming with flies, decorated in mass graves and ashen remains. A silent breeze reeking of death. To understand this, step further back in time; Tsuzuki's mother passed away one morning to a mysterious ailment, and amidst commemorating her life, flowers cradling a prone corpse, his cry would pierce through the mourning --borne from a cold womb. The infant's miraculous (demonic, they whisper) birth and vibrant purple eyes set a path to catastrophe. Life was unkind to the Tsuzuki siblings, persecution forcing them further and further from village proper to the wilder depths of the woods. The boy becomes their living bogeyman and a familiar scapegoat during times of struggle, often aligning with his rare appearances.

      Ruka teaches him to cook, garden, dance, and they live a humble life avoiding the judgment from the village. Of course, the children make twisted games of chasing down the 'monster', and his sister is a pariah on the occasion she steps foot into the village. Tsuzuki learns early that he's feared, hated, a source of grief... he knows they're right, the coincidences too plenty to ignore.

      In the midst of an outbreak, the Tsuzuki siblings wake to their hut smoking, crackling with flames, and they're dragged outside by their neighbors. Beaten brutally and bloody, he blacks out when a shovel's tip crushes his windpipe. Death doesn't stick. The young man wakes in a shallow grave, choking on soil next to his sister -- her body and her head. He's found by outsiders in that same position by her decaying corpse. Not a single villager would survive the unknown illness.

      Forcing liquids and nutrients into Tsuzuki's limp form, doctors treat him for dehydration, malnutrition, but can't seem to find any severe injuries. His glassy-eyed stare is considered shock until the day he takes a pen and shreds through his veins. This is the first instance of hundreds he would inexplicably "wake" only to make an attempt on his life. Not above using his teeth, restraints became a requirement, and he might have been traded off to a mental facility, were it not for the peculiarities of his body. The damage healed rapidly. Didn't seem to require nutrients, even water, and he never moved a muscle other than to seek death.

      Eight years later, he finally achieves his goal: Death. Now that we are caught up...

      Welcome to the Afterlife, specifically Meifu, or Purgatory, home to the Ministry of Hades where all sins of the dead are weighed and judged accordingly. The Summons Department is a crucial cog in this system. Ordinarily, souls follow the natural flow, but occasionally they either won't or cannot; in such cases, shinigami, or guardians of death, must investigate and ensure these lost spirits find rest. One must qualify to become a shinigami, oftentimes a tragic hold on life the primary reason they refuse Paradise and linger between the worlds.

     Asato Tsuzuki is one such shinigami, paradoxically the most powerful of the Ministry yet infamous for slacking. From the outside, one would not associate such a bleak life to the man sooner seen sneaking a second lunch than finishing any official duties. Boisterous and emotional, he's something of the office punching bag, not that he doesn't deserve the reputation for his low ambition efforts.

      + Empathetic
      + Childish
      + Secretive
      + Naive
      + Reckless
      + Accepting
      + Lazy
      + Big Softy
      + Friendly
      + Sensitive
      + Protective
      + Gluttonous
      + Selfless
      + Distant
      + Persistent