Match of the Millennium

Name: Yasuda Sana School: Seijyun High Grade: Second Year Best subject: Art Worst subject: Math Favourite class: Japanese Literature Extracurricular activities (if any): Dance Club Part-time job (if any): None Dream career: Traditional Japanese Dance Performer Reason for participating in NFG: Rivals: "I would like to make new friends, and prove myself, while learning new things along the way." Profile: Yasuda Sana is a 15-year-old second-year student at Seijyun High, known for her striking blonde hair and violet eyes, a rare combination that sets her apart. Born into the wealthy and traditional Yasuda family, she inherited the sentient naginata Eienchi ("Eternal Wisdom") at age 10, a weapon imbued with the spirit of her ancestor, Kenshin Yasuda. By 13, her chi abilities manifested, allowing her to wield cherry blossom petals and radiant sunlight in combat, blending elegance with power. Sana's fighting style, Sakura no Mai ("Dance of the Cherry Blossoms"), is a graceful yet deadly fusion of naginata techniques and chi-infused movements. While admired for her calm demeanor and kindness, rumors about her mysterious family and glowing naginata fuel curiosity among her peers. Some see her as a prodigy destined for greatness, while others wonder about the secrets behind her serene facade. Sana is driven by a deep sense of duty to her family's legacy, a desire to protect others, and a quiet rebellion against the rigid expectations placed upon her. Beneath her composed exterior lies a girl grappling with self-doubt and the weight of her heritage, striving to find her own path in a world that seeks to define her.

Name: Irie Nako School: Taiyo High Grade: Second Year Best subject: Phys Ed Worst subject: History Favourite class: "Ah... do I have to pick?" Extracurricular activities: Kendo Team, Gaming Club Part-time job: Her parents' coffee shop Dream career: Doesn't know Reason for participating in NFG: Rivals: "I've never been a part of anything like this. I'm really excited to be allowed to participate! I want to challenge myself and I hope to make some friends along the way! ...and some rivals. It's right in the name!" Profile: Irie Nako wants to be a normal teenager. There's just two problems... she can't remember anything further back than a couple years ago, and she's not human! Found as a youth wandering Southtown unable to remember anything and adopted by the family that found her, Nako was raised in secret for a while. But eventually isolation wore on her, and she wanted to join society instead of hiding herself away. To do that, she'd have to go to school... and of the schools they asked, only Taiyo was willing to take a risk and accept her. More than anything else, Nako desperately wants to fit in, to be accepted for who she is rather than feared for what she is, and be seen as more than a part-animal freak that Taiyo was forced to accept. That's why she's joined the NFG - to make a place for herself and prove she's as good as anyone else. Normal teenagers can be fighters, right? They must be - she's seen them on TV! And she does have a knack for it, with the agility (and ears) of a cat, the speed (and tail) of a striking snake, and a prodigy's skill with a sword...

Name: Amano Ayaki School: Gedo High Grade: Second Year Best subject: Social Studies Worst subject: Science Favourite class: Music Extracurricular activities: Roleplaying, reading, listening to music and podcasts, kendo Part-time job: Weekend waiter in a music cafe Dream career: Rockstar Reason for participating in NFG: Rivals: "Last time I got in a fight I was kicked out of my old school. Now they're giving me a chance to fight to help my new school? Of course I'm gonna take it." Profile: After already being kicked out of one Southtown school, Justice, Ayaki is getting a second chance to prove himself at Gedo. He's struggled to fit in so far, but hopes that representing the school in NFG Rivals will earn him the position and prestige he craves. The last time Ayaki revealed his true self it almost ended in tragedy. He believes that becoming a competitive fighter could help him to channel his often chaotic emotions into something positive. The question is whether he can control himself when in combat.

Name: Shirakawa Tsukiko School: Gorin High Grade: Second Year Best subject: Kanbun (Chinese Literature) Worst subject: Mathematics Favourite class: Home Economics Extracurricular activities: Gymnastics, piano Part-time job: Assistant at parents' pharmacy in Chinatown Dream career: CEO of a medical research firm Reason for participating in NFG: Rivals: "My mom made me do it. I mean, not that that's a problem! Besides, I want to prove how good my family's Tai Chi style can be, and see how principles from Chinese medicine can be used in combat. Everything is connected." Profile: Tsukiko is the daughter of a Japanese father and a Chinese mother who run a pharmacy out of Southtown's Chinatown. Driven by her parents to succeed, she earned a place at Gorin High as a competitive gymnast, where she's currently in her second year. With a background in traditional Chinese medicine, she approaches her opponents the same way she would approach a patient: as a puzzle to solve. The same techniques that are meant to heal and relieve pain can also harm and cause it, after all - and her ability to weave threads of adhesive silk-like chi from the air with her Tai Chi combined with her honed agility make her a danger to opponents and arachnophobes alike.

Name: Himura Midori School: Seijyun High Grade: First Year Best subject: Chemistry~ Worst subject: Everything else... Favourite class: The ones I skip! Extracurricular activities: Hah, no. Part-time job: Assassin in training? Dream career: Assassin not in training! Reason for participating in NFG: Rivals: "This is a fantastic chance to test my newest mixtures! Oh, but what if one of the challengers has an... unfortunate reaction. What a tragedy that would be... tee hee hee..." Profile: Beauty. Eloquence. Modesty. Grace. The very picture of the yamato nadeshiko. Such are the traits one envisions when the elite students of Seijyun High are brought to mind. Such are the traits that many Japanese parents hope their young daughters might aspire to. Such are the traits that Midori Himura has proven, time and time again, are completely antithetical to her existence. Daughter to a pair of wealthy and influential doctors, the young Midori was expected to follow in their footsteps, only for her parents to find that she couldn't even be bothered to put on her shoes. Where beauty and grace were anticipated, she possessed only clumsiness and shabbiness. Where ambition and diligence were encouraged, she has displayed naught but apathy and laziness. Despite her obvious lack of character, generous donations and back room negotiations have allowed this disappointment to remain on the rosters of the prestigious academy where she sticks out like a rotten weed amongst a rose garden. But Midori doesn't care about any of that! She's far more interested in grinding out a few more levels in her newest game or catching up on the latest chapter of her favorite manga or generally doing everything in her power to live up to the bargain-bin standards everyone has come to expect of her.

Name: Kuroki Inei School: Justice High Grade: Second Best subject: History Worst subject: Math Favourite class: Art Extracurricular activities: Art club Part-time job: Who has time? Dream career: Onmyoji Reason for participating in NFG: Rivals: "Well, it seems like a good way to practice my skills and see how I compare to my peers. Also, my father thinks it's a good idea, so I might as well sign up, right?" Profile: The Kuroki family have mostly kept to the shadows the last two hundred years, but before then they produced some of the most famous onmyoji in Japan. While they still practice their mystical arts in private, they have been keeping that mostly hidden. Until recently. Inei's father became the first professional onmyoji in generations, and his son seems keen to follow in his footsteps. Inei was enrolled in Justice High with the hope of giving him a leg up in the world and his future career carrying on his family legacy. Even though he was born with only one arm, seemingly marking him from birth for difficulties, he's one of the most skilled summoners of shikigami the family has produced in a while. He wishes to prove his family's traditions and skills to be more than superstitious hokum, and that his skills are for more than telling fortunes and divination.

Name: Signi Fye School: Pacific High Grade: First Year Best subject: Math Worst subject: Public Speaking Favourite class: Computer Science Extracurricular activities: Robotic Club Part-time job: Product Testing for the Fye Corporation Dream career: Something behind the scenes. Reason for participating in NFG: Rivals: "Making friends and research." Profile: Signi is originally from Denmark. She's the CEO's daughter of the Fye Corporation, a company that makes toy robots. She was originally expected to inherit the business someday but her poor health made that impossible. She's not too disappointed with this since she only recently gained her freedom and is no longer bedbound. For the first time she's able to attend public school at Pacific High. Her prototype cybernetic life support system gives her the ability to do so. Signi is quite bashful partly due to being forced to wear a mask much of the time. As a result she prefers to communicate with gestures and other means besides speaking. She mainly fights using her oversized robotic arms and legs. She has a habit of watching to see if they can help her improve her own combat skills. Signi's highly interested in technology and wishes to use to improve the lives of others like it has for her.

Name: Faye Asagiri School: Taiyo Gakuen Grade: Second Year Best subject: Literature Worst subject: Chemistry Favourite class: Music (she plays the French horn) Extracurricular activities: She'll join any club at least once but doesn't always stay Part-time job: N/A Dream career: Not sure yet! Figuring out where her life goes from here after graduation. Reason for participating in NFG Rivals: "I want to test my style and strength, but also to meet other people, and see if eventual pro fighting might be a career move I'm into." Profile: A transplant from Canada, the daughter of a Japanese politician and his Canadian wife. Her study of martial arts began as a childhood way to spend time with her mom, but burgeoned into full-fledged study early on in life. With her father recalled home, she has recently moved to Southtown and enrolled at Taiyo Gakuen, where she's fit right in with the student body of hot-blooded fighter types. She runs a social media channel called "FayeTime" where she films herself constantly trying new things; from mundane things like cooking to wilder things like attempting to learn parkour. Over the past few months, she's discovered in her training that katas and techniques she'd considered mastered are suddenly producing chi manifestations. Currently, she is trying to fully control and incorporate these abilities into what was an otherwise purely physical fighting style.

Name: Takane Keiko School: Taiyo High Grade: Second Year Best subject: Science Worst subject: Math Favourite class: Biology Extracurricular activities: Running, Training, Seeing Movies Part-time job (if any): Children's kickboxing instructor Dream career: Running her own kickboxing school Reason for participating in NFG: Rivals: "Upon learning kickboxing and discovering my self-esteem, I've decided to use this as a chance to put my skills to good use. It's also a chance to remind myself that losing isn't the end of the world, since I can always keep going no matter what!" Profile: Keiko Takane didn't have the best childhood. Right from the beginning, she was known for having a low self-esteem and breaking down in tears nearly every time she did something wrong. Despite the support she received from her friends and parents, Keiko was always lacking in confidence and felt like she could never do anything no matter how hard she tried. Eventually, she was enrolled in kickboxing Slowly, but surely, Keiko slowly gained self-esteem as well as learning a unique style of self-defense. She'd even learned to harness her chi to enhance her techniques. By the time she got into high school, Keiko had become a new person entirely, with the shy crybaby being replaced by a strong young woman who had learned to believe in herself and to never give up no matter what. Now if only she could overcome her fear of snakes.

Name: Mirielle Noctrelle School: Pacific High Grade: Third Year Best subject: Advanced Calculus Worst subject: Social Studies Favorite class: Visual Arts Extracurricular activities: Painting Part-time job: None Dream career: "That is not something I need to worry about! Ah, if I had to pick, um, is being a princess count as a career?" Reason for participating in NFG: Rivals: "I'm excited to meet people and see first hand what they can do! Hopefully I can make some friends along the way. You know how that saying goes about getting to know someone best by punching them in the face! Wait, that's not quite how that goes..." Profile: A cipher. Internet sleuths attempting to unravel the background of Mirielle Noctrelle will find their efforts frustrated by a conspicuous lack of information. Her peers at Pacific High are sure of only a few things about the eccentric Third Year student. She transferred into the school just recently and stays at the dorms. She speaks with a French accent. And despite her penchant for dark Gothic attire and paintings drenched in gloom, Mirielle embraces social interaction with an almost overwhelming intensity - invigorating or exhausting others depending on the personalities in play. When it comes to fighting, Mirielle continues to be an enigma. She claims no defined style of her own, instead reacting to her opponent in a way that seems almost instinctual, displaying an uncanny adaptability. Outside of social circles and matches, she is most often found in the campus atelier, immersed in one of her macabre or melancholy paintings. Those who catch her interest may find their likeness - captured in eerie, almost haunting detail - featured among the figures on her canvas.