Name: Shino Kurokaze

Alias(s): The Blind Samurai of the Forest

Sex: Male

Race/Species: Human

Age: 26

Birthday: December 18th

Sign: Sagittarius

Family: All deceased. Taken in by foster parents.

Birthplace: Japan

Occupation: Hunter

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 155 lbs.

Eye Color: None

Hair: Black

Weapons/Equipment: Katana

Attributes: Master swordsman, expert tracker and hunter, kendo master, iaijutsu master, master of kenjutsu, heightened sense of smell, touch, hearing and taste due to loss of sight.

Born in a fairly sizable village, Shino was one of the few shining stars as a member of the village's prestigious school of swordsmanship. A child prodigy, he was gifted in the art of the sword and had a bright future before as a samurai in service to the daimyo.

Unfortunately, fate had struck a cruel hand.

One night, the village had come under attack by a group of rogue samurai, that had taken up banditry. The village was burned to the ground and many innocents were slaughtered. Shino and his fellow students had attempted to defend their homestead, but were quickly overwhelmed and defeated. One by one, Shino watched as his classmates were executed, along with his master, until only he remained. He faced his would-be executioners with a steely gaze. This proved to be his undoing. The bandit leader claimed to dislike the look in Shino's eyes...and ordered them cut out. Shino was spared and left for dead in the remains of his village.

For days he wandered the road, blind and in excruciating pain. He was found on the side of the road by a farmer that was returning from a trip from the neighboring village. The man took pity on Shino and brought him along too his farm. He and his wife tended his wounds and nursed him back to health, but Shino was broken. His home was gone, his family was gone, and his eyes were gone. Any hope he had of becoming a samurai was lost to him. Even being offered a home amongst the farmer's family did little to ease the shame he felt. He may not have been samurai, but more than once Shino had considered the idea of seppuku, ritual suicide. One day the thoughts became more and Shino had blindly wandered into the nearby forest to die alone. Unbeknownst to him, he was followed by the farmer, who stopped Shino before he managed to commit the act. He revealed to Shino that wasn't always a farmer, he was in fact once a samurai. He convinced Shino that all was not lost and vowed to teach him to overcome his affliction and become a truly splendid swordsman.

For five years, Shino learned to fight with a blade once more without the use of sight. He learned to listen to world around him for the slightest sounds, to follow the most benign of scents, to feel the shifts in weight of his blade and the vibrations of his attacks. He trained himself into peak condition, way beyond what he had before he lost his eyes. By the time Shino finished his training, his loss of sight had transformed from his greatest liability, to his greatest asset.

His tutelage complete, Shino bid his new family farewell to start a life of his own, free of fear. For how can one fear what they cannot see?