Hoko Okikazu (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hovercakes) wrote2018-02-11 07:50 am
hovercakes) wrote2018-02-11 07:50 am
Entry tags:
Numeron Codex - Hoko's History/Story to Mid-Late Series
In the year 25XX, cities of humans float among the air, with high-speed railways connecting them to the few pockets of safe land below. The Earth is a toxic realm-the land of the 'Dead', quite literally so, where Barians reside separated from the cities by distance and clouds of Astral Lands. Among these cities is 'Shinkyo'.
And within Shinkyo, is the three time World Duel Champion.
Hoko Okikazu is 15, in her third year of middleschool. Known as the Frilled Delinquent (or at least, that's what Yuun calls her), she was originally interested in dance at a young age.
An unexpected heart condition prevented that dream from ever reviving. Surgery and recovery took far too much of the Okikazu's funds for here to go into the sport; the surgery itself took too much out of Hoko, for that matter, and the entire ordeal of it resulted in an arduous road to recovery indeed. She pulled through however, and in the midst of her medical haze of pain and fear came out with one word.
'Kattobingu'.
Unable to do much for a while during recovery, she would start building a Duel Monsters deck, and grow interested in dueling. Once she was recovered enough to properly go out and about, she pursued this interest further. Dueling was the 'everyman's' sport. You could be rich you could be poor, but if you had the skills and mind for it you could go anywhere. Hoko was confident that she had the latter; so she sought out her ticket for the former, looking for the oldest living resident within Phanuel to demand teaching.
...Or at least, that was what she knew she would get. Hoko would, at the tender age of 9, successfully track down and locate the Barian 'Nihal', eldest of all semi-permanent residents within Phanuel by a number of decades. She would demand of him not tutelage however, but fruit-specifically, fruits from the Barian Orchards, fruits which would ordinarily be tricky to obtain, but well worth the cost in any pastry.
As a family of bakers, it was the perfect bait. She challenged Nihal to a duel...
And Lost. She would track him down a mere day later however, and repeat her request. Nihal, as a Barian, would be tempted to decline...but something about her dedication (and perhaps that one word she kept shouting...) had him agree. And he would continue to agree, again, and again...and each time they dueled, she would improve. She'd come back with new cards, or a new strategy, getting better and better. She'd begin to vanish for days at a time, only to return with a successful streak of wins from a local tournament or similar.
And then finally when she was 12, she'd do it. She defeated the Barian.
Nihal would relent, and offer her the fruits; which Hoko would gladly take. But she would not be done-she reappeared once again before him, and after discussion, their arrangements were sealed. Hoko would always buy fruits from Barian through Nihal. ...But she would also duel him occasionally, and as part of it, thanked him for his 'teaching'.
With what she'd learned, Hoko cleared through her first World Tournament easily-she managed to even do so for the Barian World Tournament, as one of the few human entrants (sponsored by Nihal of course)...and then finally the Tournament of the Three Suns that it qualified her for, at the age of 15. Her journey there was by no means easy-between her obsession with facing Nihal, her love for most things Barian, and most absolutely her 'personal touches' of fashion, there were very few within Phanuel who could say they wanted her around. And by the time she was famous enough to be desired...she had no desire for them.
She was bored, however, with an active enough mind that it didn't take long for her to be left in a void of empty emotions following her success in the largest tournament on the planet. Not even mastering her hoverskates, fixing the final touches on her deck and outfits, nor even the completion of her latest 'baria-fruit recipe' could distract her from the dull pace of 'everything'. And the worst thing was?
After all that focus, she'd isolated herself from everyone around her. Anyone who talked to her now...didn't even want to know her properly, not really. And then one day, she noted that her path from school to Nihal's crossed over with two classmates of hers- classmates who also seemed to be stuck on their own, isolated in their own way. It was a friendship she craved- but she couldn't quite get the courage to speak to them, even with her proud 'Kattobing'.
And then one day, Ai Temari was attacked mid-air by a Barian, her inherited astralite key stolen, and Hoko had her chance. Getting herself near to Temari, she would convince the rough-acting cadet to let her help with tracking the key down...and from there, Yuun would force herself to follow.
It became a party of three, aided by Nihal. They got into a ship, got their re-breathers, and went down...only to find out that the one who stole the key was not only right under them, but none other than the Emperor of the Barians as a whole, Nasch himself.
Getting the key back would be a group effort- one that thrust it into Yuun's hand, before the girl unwittingly woke the emissary up from within instead of Temari. In the confusion and surprise, they'd face a Numbers within Heartland's ruin, dodge the chase from Nasch, and thus, make it home.
And from that moment on, life was thrust into adventure. Trips to the Barian Surface, duels against Relics and Numbers, Barian Hybrids and renegades with ~mysterious pasts~. All of it absolutely tickled her fancy, and no matter the circumstance, no matter the danger? She could shout 'KATTOBINGU!' and everything would be alright! She had friends! And her friends, as well, were growing stronger every day- Yuun becoming more open, Temari learning there were things worth putting effort into, as she discovered the dragon Andromeda and bonded to her.
And soon enough, she herself would join the ranks of those with a partner to work with. As Number 39, Crimson Mist, appeared before them. Filled with pain, but recognition. Confusion. The unknown. She would take the card as her own, placing him within a V-Pet to interact with while above the clouds- continuing the work below without him. Helping Yuun to get the numbers, digging into the matters of Redshift...an organization which would almost bring the very city of the Three Suns Tournament down to catastrophe.
They would prevent it though, and together try to bring Redshift to an end. It would only drive things to an even worse state however as when Yuun achieved Zexal II to bring the leader down, Crimson Mist- 'Akai' as he was called- would watch, and seethe, and scream 'IT WAS MINE!'
Forcing Hoko into a state called Dark Zexal, Yuun would be forced to fight her friend alongside Temari- but the chaos left its toll. Barely conscious, Hoko would be pulled to safety and refuge while Nihal held back the forces of the law who would now be intent on their arrest, the girls fleeing to the surface.
They were criminals now. Worse, Yuun in her guilt had now abandoned them to pursue a solution on her own. It simply wasn't right- she and Temari knew it. So they pursued her themselves- pulled their way through to even the Astraline Capital, working with their partners, their pain, and their vices all the same...until finally, they launched themselves into Yuun and Eliphas' duel with their own power in full bloom- Temari as 'Neo Andromeda', and Hoko as 'Dark Zexal II'.
And in dueling, they would learn what tragedy had made Astral and Akai real- what a painful split had occurred, and become real. The duel would be won- Hoko would note oddly that much as others had been lately, Eliphas seemed to stare at her with odd eyes. But there would be no time. Making Eliphas promise to help her give Akai peace, she and her friends- maybe even more by then- would leave for the cities above in order to prevent the execution of Nihal, adopted son of Nasch, in the very nick of time- preventing all out war between the three races, and staring down the many world leaders until they bent at the knee.
...So that there can now be peace.
There is still a long way to go, even as things cool-and somehow as the adventure carries on, things feel so much more complicated and strange, and yet even familiar to her. Herself, Astral, Yuun, Akai...for the time being at least, she can push her doubts from mind-and Kattobing-!
And within Shinkyo, is the three time World Duel Champion.
Hoko Okikazu is 15, in her third year of middleschool. Known as the Frilled Delinquent (or at least, that's what Yuun calls her), she was originally interested in dance at a young age.
An unexpected heart condition prevented that dream from ever reviving. Surgery and recovery took far too much of the Okikazu's funds for here to go into the sport; the surgery itself took too much out of Hoko, for that matter, and the entire ordeal of it resulted in an arduous road to recovery indeed. She pulled through however, and in the midst of her medical haze of pain and fear came out with one word.
'Kattobingu'.
Unable to do much for a while during recovery, she would start building a Duel Monsters deck, and grow interested in dueling. Once she was recovered enough to properly go out and about, she pursued this interest further. Dueling was the 'everyman's' sport. You could be rich you could be poor, but if you had the skills and mind for it you could go anywhere. Hoko was confident that she had the latter; so she sought out her ticket for the former, looking for the oldest living resident within Phanuel to demand teaching.
...Or at least, that was what she knew she would get. Hoko would, at the tender age of 9, successfully track down and locate the Barian 'Nihal', eldest of all semi-permanent residents within Phanuel by a number of decades. She would demand of him not tutelage however, but fruit-specifically, fruits from the Barian Orchards, fruits which would ordinarily be tricky to obtain, but well worth the cost in any pastry.
As a family of bakers, it was the perfect bait. She challenged Nihal to a duel...
And Lost. She would track him down a mere day later however, and repeat her request. Nihal, as a Barian, would be tempted to decline...but something about her dedication (and perhaps that one word she kept shouting...) had him agree. And he would continue to agree, again, and again...and each time they dueled, she would improve. She'd come back with new cards, or a new strategy, getting better and better. She'd begin to vanish for days at a time, only to return with a successful streak of wins from a local tournament or similar.
And then finally when she was 12, she'd do it. She defeated the Barian.
Nihal would relent, and offer her the fruits; which Hoko would gladly take. But she would not be done-she reappeared once again before him, and after discussion, their arrangements were sealed. Hoko would always buy fruits from Barian through Nihal. ...But she would also duel him occasionally, and as part of it, thanked him for his 'teaching'.
With what she'd learned, Hoko cleared through her first World Tournament easily-she managed to even do so for the Barian World Tournament, as one of the few human entrants (sponsored by Nihal of course)...and then finally the Tournament of the Three Suns that it qualified her for, at the age of 15. Her journey there was by no means easy-between her obsession with facing Nihal, her love for most things Barian, and most absolutely her 'personal touches' of fashion, there were very few within Phanuel who could say they wanted her around. And by the time she was famous enough to be desired...she had no desire for them.
She was bored, however, with an active enough mind that it didn't take long for her to be left in a void of empty emotions following her success in the largest tournament on the planet. Not even mastering her hoverskates, fixing the final touches on her deck and outfits, nor even the completion of her latest 'baria-fruit recipe' could distract her from the dull pace of 'everything'. And the worst thing was?
After all that focus, she'd isolated herself from everyone around her. Anyone who talked to her now...didn't even want to know her properly, not really. And then one day, she noted that her path from school to Nihal's crossed over with two classmates of hers- classmates who also seemed to be stuck on their own, isolated in their own way. It was a friendship she craved- but she couldn't quite get the courage to speak to them, even with her proud 'Kattobing'.
And then one day, Ai Temari was attacked mid-air by a Barian, her inherited astralite key stolen, and Hoko had her chance. Getting herself near to Temari, she would convince the rough-acting cadet to let her help with tracking the key down...and from there, Yuun would force herself to follow.
It became a party of three, aided by Nihal. They got into a ship, got their re-breathers, and went down...only to find out that the one who stole the key was not only right under them, but none other than the Emperor of the Barians as a whole, Nasch himself.
Getting the key back would be a group effort- one that thrust it into Yuun's hand, before the girl unwittingly woke the emissary up from within instead of Temari. In the confusion and surprise, they'd face a Numbers within Heartland's ruin, dodge the chase from Nasch, and thus, make it home.
And from that moment on, life was thrust into adventure. Trips to the Barian Surface, duels against Relics and Numbers, Barian Hybrids and renegades with ~mysterious pasts~. All of it absolutely tickled her fancy, and no matter the circumstance, no matter the danger? She could shout 'KATTOBINGU!' and everything would be alright! She had friends! And her friends, as well, were growing stronger every day- Yuun becoming more open, Temari learning there were things worth putting effort into, as she discovered the dragon Andromeda and bonded to her.
And soon enough, she herself would join the ranks of those with a partner to work with. As Number 39, Crimson Mist, appeared before them. Filled with pain, but recognition. Confusion. The unknown. She would take the card as her own, placing him within a V-Pet to interact with while above the clouds- continuing the work below without him. Helping Yuun to get the numbers, digging into the matters of Redshift...an organization which would almost bring the very city of the Three Suns Tournament down to catastrophe.
They would prevent it though, and together try to bring Redshift to an end. It would only drive things to an even worse state however as when Yuun achieved Zexal II to bring the leader down, Crimson Mist- 'Akai' as he was called- would watch, and seethe, and scream 'IT WAS MINE!'
Forcing Hoko into a state called Dark Zexal, Yuun would be forced to fight her friend alongside Temari- but the chaos left its toll. Barely conscious, Hoko would be pulled to safety and refuge while Nihal held back the forces of the law who would now be intent on their arrest, the girls fleeing to the surface.
They were criminals now. Worse, Yuun in her guilt had now abandoned them to pursue a solution on her own. It simply wasn't right- she and Temari knew it. So they pursued her themselves- pulled their way through to even the Astraline Capital, working with their partners, their pain, and their vices all the same...until finally, they launched themselves into Yuun and Eliphas' duel with their own power in full bloom- Temari as 'Neo Andromeda', and Hoko as 'Dark Zexal II'.
And in dueling, they would learn what tragedy had made Astral and Akai real- what a painful split had occurred, and become real. The duel would be won- Hoko would note oddly that much as others had been lately, Eliphas seemed to stare at her with odd eyes. But there would be no time. Making Eliphas promise to help her give Akai peace, she and her friends- maybe even more by then- would leave for the cities above in order to prevent the execution of Nihal, adopted son of Nasch, in the very nick of time- preventing all out war between the three races, and staring down the many world leaders until they bent at the knee.
...So that there can now be peace.
There is still a long way to go, even as things cool-and somehow as the adventure carries on, things feel so much more complicated and strange, and yet even familiar to her. Herself, Astral, Yuun, Akai...for the time being at least, she can push her doubts from mind-and Kattobing-!