Takauji Ashikaga (足利高氏 or 足利尊氏, Ashikaga Takauji) is the person who betrayed and the Hojo Clan shogunate by nearly decimating it on it's entirety, standing as the central enemy of Hojo Tokiyuki and the target of his revenge.
Appearance[]
Takauji usually wears a traditional costume, when he is at war he usually wears armor to avoid serious damage.
Personality[]
Takauji is usually someone very serious, trustworthy and kind to other people, being a well-liked and respected warrior. His true personality is that of someone cold and calculating who would not hesitate to kill anyone in order to achieve his goal.
Behind his charismatic and respectable demeanour, lies a sociopath of unmeasurable malice that he tries to keep in check under an amicable facade. When traces of his true personality start to leak, it causes onlookers to witness hallucinations of monsters coming out of him, or even see Takauji himself a more monstrous version of himself. Such instances have included things like being seeing with three irises on his eyes, having his face deform with strange appendages, and having apparitions manifest out of him when unelashing his bloodlust, which terrified the Elusive Warriors.
Secretly, Takauji has perverse hobbies, including drawing grotesque paintings in walls with what appears to be blood, something his brother Tadayoshi is well aware of and does make sure to keep hidden from public knowledge.
During his teenage years, Takauji was a notable slacker, who cared very little about his education and only sought to live peacefully. During his 14th year, his divine power manifested and awoke within him the deep rooted ambition planted into him by his ancestor Ietoki Ashikaga, compelling him to obtain everything. Not even Takauji himself understands this ambition, and feels it as a force moving him to take all for himself.
Despite his overwhelming power, status and charisma, Takauji still remains notoriously lazy and hates difficulty. He wishes for everything to go smoothly and for his goals to be achieved with little to no obstacles. The constant opposition by Hojo Tokiyuki and the Elusive Warriors becomes an evergrowing pain for Takauji as not only he's forced to expand time and resources, but also costs him his grace with the Emperor, forcing him to take action himself, becoming increasingly irritated at his inability to seize power. When faced by real threats to his life, Takauji shows signs of cowardice and his face distorts in panic. When his forces were unable to fight against Akiie Kitabatake's superior military tactics, Takauji despaired immensely and ultimately removed himself out of any direct involvement, letting his men deal with him.
When Takauji not only failed to assassinate Tokiyuki, but his assassination of Moriyoshi became known to Go-Daigo, along with his unauthorized rule of Kamakura, it caused him to become branded as a traitor by the emperor and an enemy of the country. This sequentiality of events, deeply disturbed Takauji as it permanently shamed his name in history, while terminating any chance to for a smooth transition of power to be bestowed upon him after Go-Daigo's eventual passing, thereby completely destroying his ideal of a "peaceful life".
Takauji would grow to immensely despise even any mention of Tokiyuki. When treating an injured soldier, upon learning that the war he had met with Tokiyuki for the first time since his betrayal, was named the Nakasendai War in honor of the newfound battle name for Tokiyuki, and consequently depriving Takauji of his framing of history, he immediately opened the soldier's wound causing his innards to burst out.
These developments cause Takauji to burn with passionate revenge towards Tokiyuki, for thwarting all of his ambitions and seeks to kill him as retribution for all the trouble he was forced to go through. Takauji would display a warped, self-centered, and delusional perspective of the events, claiming that Tokiyuki had "betrayed" him and even callously offering to forgive him if he surrendered, despite the fact Takauji had slaughtered Tokiyuki's entire family in an act of treason.
History[]
Background[]
Takauji was the descendant of Ietoki Ashikaga, a mad man who commited suicide while wishing for his descendant of three generations to seize power. This wish made during death carried great power, and as was prophesied, Takauji was born with an unnatural amount of divine power.
In his childhood he grew up with his brother Tadayoshi and the Kono brothers. He was a notable slacker who lacked ambition despite having talent. During his 14th year, Takauji's divine power started to manifest as he glowed in light. He suddenly told his inner group that he desired everything and to bring him all, which all of them complied with, paving the way for his future ascension to power. Several years later Takauji would be known as a legendary and powerful warrior, being one of the most important forces of the Hojo clan and serving Hojo Takatoki and would one day serve Tokiyuki, Takatoki's son.
In the year 1333 he started a rebellion against the Hojo clan, being the main responsible for their death and the destruction of Kamakura together with Yoshisada Nitta.
After the rebellion he would send his son to the Kanto region to rule in his name.
Abilities[]
- Intuition: According to Tadayoshi, since he was a child, Takauji has had a great intuition that has helped him solve the problems he finds himself in.
- Swordsman: Takauji is considered one of the best swordsmen of his time. He can easily decapitate scores of enemies in the blink of an eye. Grab a sword with his hand with no injury.
- Divine Power: Takauji was born with an unnatural amount of divine power which bestows him with several gifts. Most particularly he can use his divine power as a form of charisma that attracts people to his side. As a result of the Gods growing weaker over time with humanity absorbing the leakage of divine power as human vitality, those attracted to Takauji inadvertently send their divine power to him, making him stronger and bestowing him the fortunes of a God. Were he to unify the country under his name, Takauji would seize all divine power, causing human progress to stop. His divine power surpasses that of Suwa, making the latter unable to read his future.
- Hallucinations: Takauji's divine power can cause people to witness illusions, which vary in shape and form, but appear frequently whenever Takauji's malice starts to leak. Said hallucinations tend to manifest in grotesque phenomena distorting Takauji's facial characteristics, such as causing his eye to be composed of multiple smaller eyeballs, or manifest insectoid apendages from his face. When unleashing his bloodlust against the Elusive Warriors, the hallucinations manifested in an horrific, convoluted visage of monstrous yokai emerging from Takauji.
- Divine Charisma: Takauji's power bestow him with inhuman charisma, able to charm people to his side instantly. This power first manifested during his 14th year, where he begun to radiate light while stating his ambition to claim everything for himself, which his inner circle complied immediately, turning Moronao an otherwise atheist into believe Gods existed. Takauji has been able to use this charisma to put people under trance. Those under his spell are fascinated by Takauji to the extent their thoughts revolve entirely upon his persona. Scores of people that were loyal to the Mikado's son, ignored him entirely as they marched towards Takauji. This ability has also been weaponized by Takauji, allowing him to either stun his foes with his presence, letting him to instantly kill any opposition, or otherwise convert enemies into loyal, devoted henchmen ready to die for him.
- Divine Influence: Takauji can bestow his own divine power into others, turning them into rabid zealots who lose any semblance of reason and are transformed into suicidal devotees. This power is channeled through consuption of Takauji's saliva. This power was utilized by Takauji to convert the then demoralized wimpy Kokushi, into a frenzied madman with distorted facial expressions. When this power was granted into Moronao's soldiers, it caused them to become berserk and fight without care for their own lives, turning them into a deadly force that did not fear pain not death.
- Divine Luck: Takauji's divine power, grants him with an unnatural amount of luck, which manifests in an array of ways. This luck protects him from attacks that would normally find their way into Takauji to miss on its entirety, or fail to cause significant damage. Takauji has also been able to injure himself, but entirely miss his vitals as a result of this luck. His fortunes also apply offensively, letting Takauji to otherwise land impossible or unthinkable blows on his enemies.
- Divine Durability: Takauji's divine power also grants him with an unnatural, Superhuman durability and endurance. This power was witnessed during the fight with Masashige Kusonoki. During their fight Kusonoki stated "I damaged his eye, pierced his arm, broke his leg, and snapped his neck" Takauji then proceeded to raise his body from the ground similar to resurrection and defeat Kusonoki after. [1]
- Sword: Being a warrior, he has a sword to defend himself.
- Honekami (Bone Biter): Takauji's main weapon, and the heirloom of the Ashikaga clan. A nagitana modelled after a spinal cord with a section resembling a ribcage. This contraption allowed Takauji to catch swords and destroy them.
References[]
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- ↑ chapter 113-114